


The Slave

by peanut61654



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fantasy, Fluff, I cant write tags, Knights - Freeform, M/M, Princes & Princesses, Romance, Slaves, Violence, have you noticed?, some people still have powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-12 04:22:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11154147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peanut61654/pseuds/peanut61654
Summary: Gray is the prince of a small desert city called Fairy Tail. The young prince's life isn't easy and it gets even more complicated when his father captures Dragon Tribe's leader and turns him into Gray's slave! [Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015]





	1. Complicated

**Author's Note:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account! 
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015 
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Gray Fullbuster's life was not normal. Instead of having to be worried about school and being popular like any other teen in the world, he had to worry about being ready to rule over a whole city.

"Prince Gray!" A scarlet haired woman shouted loudly.

The raven prince winced and rolled over in his very large and feather-like bed.

"Five more minutes..." Gray groaned.

The woman shook her head and pushed the raven out of bed.

"Fine fine I'm up, Erza!" He grumbled as he sat up, rubbing the bump that was forming on the back of his head.

He looked at one of his personal assigned knights. She was a force to be reckoned with but she also had a crazy caring side.

"You need to get ready for your piano lesson." The scarlet haired knight put simply.

Gray sighed. He didn't understand the importance of playing the piano but he was forced to learn anyway. The prince dismissed Erza with the flick of his wrist. The knight was not very happy about it but she walked out to the hall anyway. Gray went to his closet and pulled out a white shirt and some jeans. He smirked at the thought of everyone's reaction to him wearing them. They all got worked up over everything he did that wasn't 'prince like' and it made the raven laugh. Of course being the prince of Fairy Tail had its perks but there was so many cons to follow. Gray stepped out of his room and into the long, winding hall way. A bunch of paintings hung on the pretty, red walls and the floor was warm wood paneling. The raven passed the occasional door but had to go to the room at the end of the hall. Gray finally got to the end and the door was already wide open, beautiful music filled his ears. A blonde haired teen sat gracefully in front of a grand piano. Her fingers moved smoothly from key to key and she seemed to be deep in the song. Gray didn't want to disturb his teacher but the blonde's eyes slowly opened and she stopped mid song.

"Gray!" She cried.

"Hello, Princess Lucy..." Gray muttered with fake cheeriness.

Lucy was his piano teacher, a princess of a neighboring city, and his fiancé. Of course Gray's father, King Alastair, forced Lucy and Gray to get engaged so that way the royal family would live on and the two cites would join together after many years of fighting. Lucy was a wonderful girl and all but Gray hated that he had no choice but to marry her. Lucy gave Gray a big hug and a sweet peck on the cheek.

"Let's start playing shall we?" The blonde giggled as she grabbed Gray's wrist and pulled him to the piano.

Gray's piano playing was pretty bad. He just couldn't memorize all the keys and notes. All of it frustrated the prince. Gray noticed Erza standing near the door with slight amusement in her eyes. Gray scoffed and focused on the movement of his fingers on the white keys. Lucy was cheering him on and telling him he was doing just fine. Finally about an hour passed and the painful lesson was over. Gray sighed as he got up from the bench.

"Lets go to the garden." Lucy suggested.

Gray snorted at the thought. The garden wasn't a very good garden. Due to the dryness of the soil and the sand around Fairy Tail, it was hard for planets to grow. So the royal garden only consisted of a few brittle shrubs and some molting trees. Gray only nodded, not wanting to upset the princess. The pair walked out to the garden, accompanied by Erza and sat on one of the benches. It was boiling hot and the air was sticky so naturally Gray's shirt disappeared. Lucy looked at Gray almost sadly. The blonde knew that the raven didn't want to be with her but they were both forced to be. It hurt because she had fallen in love with the prince along the way but she knew her love may never be returned. Prince Gray gazed at some ants that crawled around near their feet not really paying attention the brooding blonde. He watched as the little black ants got into a little line and followed their leader back to the ant hole that was only a few inches away. The ants reminded the raven of the citizens of Fairy Tail. How they all blindly followed his father and one day all the presser would transfer to his shoulders. The teen shivered at the thought. He didn't want all the responsiblity but he had no choice in the matter. Every important decision in his life was already pre-made and the raven hated it. Lucy watched Gray as his face scrunched up with frustration. She wondered what was on the young prince's mind.

"Madam? Sir? Can I get you two anything?" A frail voice asked.

Gray looked over to see one of his father's slaves. She was a little younger than he was with long blue hair and dark brown eyes. The raven recalled her name was Wendy. She was one of the slaves captured from the Dragon Tribe. The Dragon tribe was a little tribe near Fairy Tail. They were the ones who owned the land before the founder of Fairy Tail came and built the city. The founder was very cruel to the Dragon Tribe after they tried to fight and get their land back. He had exiled them to a small cluster of sand duns a few miles away for Fairy Tail. Each person living in the Dragon Tribe had a dragon slayer power. Wendy was the only dragon slayer that Gray's father could keep at the castle because the others were far more than their masters could handle. If the King had kept them any longer then the whole castle would have been destroyed. The bluenette was also a sky dragon slayer. The royal bloodline had special blood that could cancel out a certain type of magic. His father could only cancel out wind/sky magic. After being tested from the royal doctors when he was a kid, Gray learned that his blood could cancel out any fire magic. Gray never got to use it, not even during practice.

"N-no thanks." Gray muttered and then looked at Lucy.

"I'll take some tea please." The blonde smiled.

Wendy nodded slightly as she walked back inside.

Gray watched as the door closed softly and shut his eyes for a moment.

XXX

The battle was intense. Natsu Dragneel was panting, sweat pouring down his neck and forehead, his fists ablaze. The Fairy Tail knights were fiercer then he thought. The only thing running through the pinkette's head was that he had to protect the tribe for he was the leader. The teen had watched bodies hit the sandy ground from both sides. Now He was the only one standing upright. A swarm of knights were crowding in front of him, swords and magic ready to attack. Suddenly the crowed of knights began to part and Natsu had a good feeling about who was walking toward him.

"What the hell do you want?" The pink haired leader snarled as a man with a dark hood approached him.

"Nice to see you too." The man simply chuckled.

Natsu knew the man very well from all the stories about war that his father used to tell him . The hooded man was none other than the King of Fairy Tail. Natsu's fists were poised to strike.

"You are coming with me." King Alastair threatened cockily.

"Who said I would ever do that!?" Natsu shouted, hoping that Fairy Tail would just leave his tribe alone.

"I did. I mean I could just tell all my men to kill your precious people and then what would you do?" The raven haired man smirked, raising his head to get the knights in fighting position.

Natsu felt his heart race. He didn't want them hurt, for they were the only people he ever knew. The pinkette slowly shook his head and lowered his fists.

"I'll go but you have to leave them alone." The teen hissed, adrenaline still pumping.

"Deal." The king said slyly.

In chains, the leader left the wounded Dragon tribe behind.

XXX

Gray waved as Lucy got into a car to go home. The blonde promised that she would come back the next day. The raven slumped in a chair that was in the open planned parlor. Wendy had offered to get him something to eat and he politely declined. The prince, to everyone's horror, liked to cook his own food. He was about to get out of the comfortable chair and go to the kitchen when the one of the doors opened. Erza crossed her harms with a humph.

"Your father, King Alastair, would like to see you in the throne room." She stated and turned to leave.

Gray raised an eye brow. The prince was rarely allowed to see his father, let alone his father wanting to see him. The king only called his son when it was something very important. The raven got up and followed Erza to the throne room. His imagination went wild as he guessed what his father could possible want to see him for. Every one of the scenarios in his head played out pretty badly. Each thing his father had said in his mind was not in the prince's favor. The pair entered the throne room quietly. There was an air of success flowing through the knights in the room. Gray's dad grinned at him.

"I have a gift for you." King Alastair chuckled, waving his hand to two guards who ran into a small room that branched off the throne room.

Gray gulped. Just what did his father get him? The raven watched in slight disgust as the guards lugged in a pink haired teen about a little younger than he was in shackles. His head was held up high even with the circumstances.

"This is your new slave." Gray's father announced.


	2. The Soup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account! 
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015 
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

XXX

Gray grimaced. He was in the kitchen with his father. That wasn't the worst of it though. King Alastair held a sharp knife in his hand.

"Alright all you have to do is cut your finger and let only a drop of blood fall in this soup. Do not put in more than one drop you hear me?" The raven man instructed as he thrust the knife toward Gray.

"W-why not?" The prince quivered, hating to have his father's eyes on him.

His father's deep blue eyes seemed to be analysing everything he did.

"It would be poisonous. Didn't you learn anything in practice?" The king scoffed.

Hearing about how to use cancelling magic was one thing but using is was a whole different thing. Gray took the knife silently. He had no choice but to follow through with making the pink haired leader his slave now. With one little movement he sliced the pad of his finger. It stung like getting a deep paper cut. The raven squeezed his finger till a small tear drop of blood fell toward the bowl of soup below. Gray felt his heart sink to his stomach as one of the maids took the bowl to the room next door. In that room was Natsu who had no idea the sweet soup would easily be his undoing. King Alastair grinned at Gray with pride and amusement in his eyes.

"Why did you get me a slave anyway?" Gray piped up.

"I never do get you gifts, do I? I thought since I was near the Tribe, I'd go on a little shopping spree." His father answered, grin still in place. "And Gray, we need to go to the city today."

The prince frowned. His father always gave him vague answers to every question, from how a war went to how his mother died. Nothing that came out of the king's mouth made any damn sense to the raven. It was so frustrating. Going to the city meant that Gray would have to act like a real prince. They would be around adoring citizens who came to tell them news or ask questions or to just see them. It was ever so often they went out to the little city a few meters from the royal castle. Gray knew that Erza would come along for some protection. They usually didn't need to bring extra guards due to the area being pretty peaceful. With that King Alastair walked out of the kitchen beckoning his son to follow.

XXX

Natsu was sitting in a lonely but fancy room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, covered in dust. A large wooden table stood in the middle of the room with multiple broken chairs surrounding it. The pinkette was huddled in a corner, thinking of how he even got into this mess in the first place. The teen's heart burned for home. He missed his friends and hoped for their safety. While sitting in the dusty, airless room the young leader knew that he would never get to see any of his treasured people again. He was just a mere slave for one of the highest ranking people living in Fairy Tail. Natsu was now at the beck and call of some annoying prince. The pinkette stuffed his face in his hands, and decided it was better not to think. Now he was left with the eerie quiet of the barley used room.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. A maid with long bleach blonde hair and a petite frame waltzed through the door with a steaming bowl in her hands. Many scents filled Natsu's highly sensitive nose. A mixture of warm chicken broth, chunks of thoroughly spiced chicken and...blood? The pinkette could've sworn that he smelled the coppery and familiar scent of blood coming from the bowl. The maid gave him the bowl with a smile and left the room without even a word. Natsu looked at the yellowish, brownish soup with suspicion then down at his torn up black vest, bloody white scarf, and dirty baggy black pants. Maybe the smell was coming from himself and not the delicious looking soup. The captured tribe leader's stomach growled, demanding the soup. Without further hesitation he scarfed down the contents of the bowl. Natsu set the little ceramic bowl next to him on the soft carpeted floor and wiped off the remains of the broth off his lips. The pink haired teen crossed his arms and sighed. His eyes were so very heavy. He felt weak and lazy so he just closed his eyes for a moment's rest.

XXX

A young Natsu sat on his dad's lap. His dad gave a warm chuckle.

"Natsu you should be in bed." Igneel scolded.

"Yeah but daddy I want a story!" The pink haired child whined.

The pair was in a little hut that had been there ever since Natsu could remember. All of his friends lived in different huts that surround his father's in one large circle. The pinkette hadn't been able to sleep due to the cheering from a city that was settled only a few miles away from the tribe.

"Alright what story shall I tell you this time?" The red-headed leader questioned.

"Oh! What about a story about that war!"

All of the warmth in Igneel's eyes faded and was replaced with a sort of sadness.

"W-what war?" The man stuttered, not sure how his young son found out.

"One of the older kids were telling me! They said that there was a war between our tribe and that city!" Natsu replied, still cheery.

Igneel shook his head and made a metal note to strangle a certain group of kids. Natsu looked up at his father with anticipation which made the man sigh.

"Alright, get closer and I'll tell you."

The pink haired child snuggled against his dad's chest with a smile.

"It was when I was about eighteen..."

"So..A long, long time ago?"

"Yeah sure...HEY!-"

Natsu laughed at his father's steaming face and waited for him to continue.

"Our tribe had been kicked off our rightful land and soon Fairy Tail was built."

"Fairies have tails?"

Igneel only smirked at his son's remark and composed himself, thinking about a nice way to explain a violent war to his six-year-old son.

"I'm not really sure, Natsu. Anyway, our tribe leader at the time decided that we needed to get our land back from Fairy Tail's founder and so we waged war against them. I was right in the thick of it and, as funny as it sounds, I met your mother during the war too." The older man said, sighing at the thought of his deceased lover.

"Then what happened? Did we win?" The pinkette yawned.

"It was a long battle and we lost many people. We never did reclaim our land."

"Oh...What happened to mommy?"

Igneel only gulped at the thought of the raid that happened years after the war. It was the night of Natsu's birth when Fairy Tail soldiers stormed in, killing everyone for the fun of it.

"Look it is time for you to go to bed okay?" Was the red-haired man's reply.

"Aye." Natsu nodded and soon was snoring.

XXX

Gray and the king walked through a local shopping area, only a few miles away from the castle. Citizens waved and greeted them both enthusiastically. They all asked King Alastair questions and he responded accordingly. Erza stood protectively in front of them, making sure no one got close. People even bowed down to the king with praise. Gray could only watch with a fake smile plastered to his face.

'People are defiantly just sheep..always dependent on others,' The raven thought with sigh, knowing he was only one more member of the flock.

Gray's father did a brilliant acting job, the routine he always used in front of his people. The charming and kind-hearted ruler, oh what a saint he was. The prince decided to look closely at the area instead of at his dad. The shopping area was very nice and fancy. The businesses towered over head the crowd of people below. People who lived closet to the castle were pretty rich. A little ways away was the rest of the population with shabby shacks to live in and only a few jewels to their names. King Alastair claimed that this system was very fair. If you weren't stinking rich then you had to worry about surviving each day. The rich citizens loved the royal family so they were always peaceful when the prince and king came to visit. One the other hand, the rest of the city hated Gray's family line so they were very mean to the royals.

'Hell, when I become king, things will be a lot different." The raven thought as he turned his attention back to the crowd.

A little to the left of the crowd, stood a girl about his age. She had large curls of blue hair on her shoulders and a crazy smile on her face.

"Prince Gray~" She sing-songed and reached out for the prince.

Before the girl could even get close to touching Gray, Erza was standing right in front of him.

"Don't. you. dare." The scarlet haired knight hissed, sword drawn.

An older woman, obviously the girl's mother ran up to the group.

"Oh please! Spare Juvia!" The woman cried as she clung on to her shivering daughter's arm.

This whole scene caught everyone's attention. People gaped, whispering about how bad the mother must have felt. Gray caught his father's eyes, glaring at him like daggers.. The raven gulped.

'This isn't my fault!' His mind shouted as his dad walked over to the group.

"Erza..." The king said in a casual voice.

The knight shielded her sword, giving the king an apologetic look.

"Sorry my king." She murmured with a low bow.

The raven haired man made a shooing motion and the teen only nodded. With that Gray and Erza left the shopping area, leaving Gray's father behind to smooth things over.

XXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews and Kudos are appreciated


	3. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account! 
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015 
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing

Natsu's eyes flew open. He looked around the room.

"Damn it wasn't a dream!" He exclaimed, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

The room was so still it was driving the wild pinkette crazy. He must have been in the stuffy room for hours so he decided to get up and take a look at his new home.

'Like hell I am staying here.' He thought with a grin of confidence.

With that thought Natsu got up and walked over to the door which was unlocked. The pink haired slave leaned out the door, looking up and down the hallway which was just was quiet as the barley used room. There was a large set of double doors at the end of the hall and at the other end was the entrance to the parlor. The former tribe leader stepped out of the room and began to walk toward the double doors, hoping it would lead outside. He pushed open the doors with ease and shook his head with disappointment. The double doors lead to an oversized room with a pure white large bed in the middle. There was a lone side table with a picture of a raven haired woman on it and a notebook. Natsu stepped inside cautiously, hoping to find someone inside who would help him get out of the castle.

'Better not be that stupid Prince.' The pinkette thought with annoyance.

Just the thought of that guy made Natsu's blood boil. There was a huge-walk in closet filled with a variety of shirts and pants. The pinkette laughed at the person's fashion sense. Natsu's green eyes traveled to the picture and the notebook. He picked up notebook with curiosity. Natsu proceeded to pry open the cover and-

"Um..excuse me?" A small voice called.

Natsu dropped the book and it landed hard on the floor. The former tribe leader spun around, ready for a fight but was surprised to see Wendy in the door way.

"W-Wendy?!" He called, a smile gracing his face.

Wendy's sad face lit up at the sight of her former friend. She ran over to him and pulled him into an embrace.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" The bluenette cried.

Natsu laughed whole heartedly. He was glad he wasn't alone.

XXX

Wendy and Natsu were sitting on the almost feather-like bed.

"I don't know if we should be in here." Wendy fretted.

"Why not?" Natsu asked, tilting his head.

"Because! This is Prince Gray's bedroom and if we are caught we'll be-"

"Don't sweat it alright? I'll protect you if anything happens."

Wendy crossed her arms.

"I can protect myself!" She protested.

"Glad to hear it." The pinkette laughed.

"How did you get captured? What about the tribe?" Wendy questioned quietly.

"Well the tribe is fine. I just surrendered so they would leave everyone else alone." Natsu answered clearly.

The bluenette only nodded. She had a feeling that was why he was there. Natsu didn't seem to care about his safety when he was fighting but when it came to his friends the stubborn leader would do anything, even giving up his own life. Wendy didn't know if she should have been proud or if she should have smacked him. She only smiled, being glad that she had a friend in the lonely castle. Natsu suddenly got up and stood in front of her.

"So how about we escape?" The pinkette said straightly.

"Escape?" Wendy repeated, the word felt foreign on her tongue.

"Yes as in get out of this hell hole and get back to the tribe!" Natsu smiled, grabbing the bluenette's wrist and dragging her out of the bedroom.

XXX

So there they were, standing in front of an open window. The pair was several stories up in the air but Natsu reassured Wendy that they would be fine. He hoped.

"Come on!" Natsu called, putting his foot on the window frame, ready to hoist himself up.

Wendy gasped," You want me to jump from this height! You must be crazy!"

The pink haired teen only smiled and held out his hand.

"We are going to break something or become pancakes!" The blunette protested as she shakily grabbed her leader's hand.

'See there is no way I am staying here.' Natsu thought as he prepared to jump out of the window.

"Stop!" A voice commanded and the two escapees froze.

Wendy quivered and Natsu narrowed his eyes. The pinkette turned his head to see a green haired man with sword in hand. He had a stern and deadly look on his face.

"Get out of that window now!" The man shouted again.

Out of habit, Wendy let go of Natsu's hand and stood in front of the knight.

"S-sir.." She stuttered.

"Tell it to the king! Get your friend out of the window!" He yelled, pointing the sword at Natsu who was in slight shock that Wendy had listened to the order.

Reluctantly, Natsu stepped out of the window but got into a fighting stance.

"Don't think I will come quietly." Natsu hissed.

The pinkette had been so close to freedom that he didn't want to lose it now. He put all his thoughts into making his fists light with bright flames but nothing happened. The pinkette closed his eyes with concentration but still his fists remained the same.

The green haired man only laughed and charged toward the confused pinkette. Before Natsu could react, the man hit him with the butt of his sword in the gut, sending the pink haired slave flying. Blood spurting out of his mouth.

"Natsu!" Wendy cried.

Natsu shook as he slowly got up and wiped off blood from the corner of his mouth with a grin.

"That all you got?" The pinkette taunted.

The man grinned back and charged again. This time the pinkette was ready for the attack. He was going to fight, flames or no.

XXX

Gray was relaxing in a chair in the parlor, reading a book on how people made ice sculptures.

'I would try this but all we have here is sand.' The raven thought.

It had been a few hours since he had gotten back from the city. His father had scolded him on how it was Gray's fault for making him look bad in public. The raven scoffed as he set down the book and closed his eyes, imaging having a normal life in the city. No pressures, no isolated fathers, no engagement, no piano lessons. The prince sighed as he slipped into his made up world, heart filling with wants and wishes that may never come true. Suddenly there was a loud bang, knocking the raven out of his trance. Gray looked up, hearing thumps from the next floor.

"Must be Freed and Erza fighting again." Gray assumed, wishing that they would just stay quiet.

Freed was one of his father's personal knights. He was a lanky guy with green hair and crazy sword wielding skills. Freed was pretty powerful but he always got his ass handed to him when he picked a fight with Erza Scarlet. The bangs continued and Gray was beginning to get quiet annoyed so he walked up the steps. He heard yelling coming from the end of the hall and he heard his dad's strong voice. The raven cautiously walked down the hall to find an open window, Natsu and Wendy, his dad, and Freed. Natsu and Wendy were slumped against one of the walls. Natsu was battered and bruised. Wendy looked up King Alastair with fear. Freed stood in front of the two slaves with confidence radiating from him. King Alastair was shouting loudly at Natsu and Wendy. Gray wanted to back away as soon as possible but the King caught him before the raven could turn and run.

"Ah, son. These two decided to try and escape. I would like you to give out whatever punishment you would see fit to the pink haired one." His father instructed, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

"B-but I um.." Gray stuttered scratching the back of his head.

King Alastair didn't pay attention to his son but looked at petrified Wendy and striked her across the face. The bluenette whimpered as she grabbed her cheek. Natsu glared at the King with rage and prepared to stand up when he was kicked in the face by Freed, who was keeping a straight face. Gray shook his head.

'I can't punish someone!' The Prince's mind shouted as his father instructed Freed to escort Wendy to the throne room.

He could feel all the anticipation radiating off his father as the three passed the stunned Prince. Natsu looked up at Gray with a gritted teeth.

"So what will it be, my Prince." The pinkette mocked.

Gray only blinked, thinking about how to handle the situation.

The raven walked up to the battered pinkette and slid down the wall to sit next to him.

"Nothing." He put simply.

Natsu stared at the Prince with curiosity.

"Nothing? That's pretty lame." Natsu chuckled and coughed a little.

Being next to the raven made the pinkette feel weak and sluggish.

"Hey! It's better than hurting you!" Gray protested.

Natsu only nodded, deciding weather or not to punch the Prince in the face and make a break for it.

"It's good you didn't make it outside." Gray commented.

"Wha? Why?!" Natsu yelled.

"Cause you would be powerless forever then."

"What-" Natsu stumbled, bewildered.

"I control whether or not you have your dragon powers. If you left now, when I didn't give you permission then you would have lost them forever." The raven explained casually.

"Then let me leave." Natsu stated, standing up.

"I-I can't."

"Why the hell not! I am not going to do any good for you anyway. I am lousy cook. I can't clean. I don't have anything useful so just let me leave."

"My father would kill me and-"

"Screw him!" Natsu shouted, anger poured into each word.

Gray winced. He wanted badly to let the teen go but his hands were tied.

"Just go help Erza polish the swords in the training room." Gray commanded, trying to change the subject.

"No." Natsu said firmly.

"God damn it Natsu just go!" The prince shouted, jumping to his feet.

"No!" Natsu yelled back, not standing down.

"I swear I will hurt you if you do not leave right now!"

"Go ahead and try!" The pink haired slave taunted, glaring at Gray.

All the fight in Gray died down. He really didn't want to hurt the pinkette but he had to do something. He punched Natsu in the face, knocking the weakened pinkette off his feet. With that the Prince stalked out of the hallway and back down the stairs, heading toward his room, his heart racing and fists balled.

XXX

It was the next morning. Gray was curled up in his comfortable bed, sound asleep. His scarlet haired alarm clock came storming in the room.

"Prince Gray! Princess Lucy is here!" Erza shouted.

"No~" The raven mumbled sleepily.

"Don't be so rude!" The knight yelled with annoyance as she pushed the sleeping Prince out of his bed. This was their normal routine so Gray was getting used to having a bump on the back of his head.

"I'm up! Sheesh could you not push me next time?" Gray muttered.

"Well first you have to wake up when I first call you." Erza replied back with a smirk. "Anyway Natsu has shown Princess Lucy into the parlor."

"How the hell do you get him to do-..nevermind." Gray laughed as he got up and quickly got dressed.

"What do you mean nevermind!? I am not that mean!" The knight cried.

Gray only scoffed and walked out of his bedroom, with Erza on his tail.

XXX

Natsu had led Lucy into the parlor and brought her some tea. The pinkette was doing so with a sour attitude of course.

'At least this lady is nice.' Natsu thought as he asked her if she needed anything else.

The pink haired teen had refused to bring Lucy in but after Erza's "great pep talk" he was forced to bring her in and give her anything she needed. It was all such a pain. There was loud footsteps coming from the hall way as Gray and Erza came into the parlor. Lucy's face lit up as she spotted Gray. The raven gave her a small smirk in return as he kissed her on the cheek. Erza stood next to Natsu which made the pinkette nervous. The knight was pretty scary and the pinkette had learned it first hand. Gray took the seat that was set next to the blonde's and they began to chat. Lucy looked at Natsu with a slight frown.

"Hmm I have never seem him since today. Is he one of King Alastair's slaves?" The princess questioned.

Natsu opened his mouth preparing to say he belonged to no one but was cut off by Gray.

"No, He..he is my dad's gift to me. His name is Natsu." The raven murmured.

Lucy furrowed her brow," I swear I have heard that name from some where but I really don't remember."

"He is no one." Erza piped up and Lucy only shook her head.

Natsu glared at the scarlet haired knight angrily and was returned with an even meaner look.

"I thought you never wanted a slave." Lucy continued.

"I don't bu-but it is very complicated, Princess." Gray stuttered flatly.

"Oh!" Lucy cried as she pulled something out of a pocket that was on her pretty pink dress.

The blonde handed Natsu a sealed letter.

"Could you give that to King Alastair. Tell him it is from my father, King Jude. Dad didn't tell me what it is about but he sounded urgent when he gave it to me."

Natsu took the letter gingerly and turned to go to the throne room. Gray watched the pinkette leave, wondering what the letter contained.

XXX

Natsu stopped at the throne room and gulped. He didn't want to face King Alastair though he thought if he had his powers he could take him on no problem. He opened the double doors slowly and walked in the room. A red carpet lead up to a large throne with a man sitting atop it. The king looked similar to Gray but had colder eyes and tamer hair.

"What do you want." The king called.

"Uh..Princess Lucy wanted me to..to give this to you." Natsu murmured.

"Well give it to me then. Who is it from?"

"King Jude." The pinkette replied handing the letter to the over bearing King.

The King quickly opened it and pulled out the letter, reading it silently to himself. Once he was finished he slipped the letter back in the envelope. His face was still as hard as rock but Natsu could see a hint of anger and maybe even fear in his dark blue eyes.

XXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews and Kudos are appreciated


	4. Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Natsu sat outside the throne room. Shortly after giving the king the letter, the pinkette was kicked out of the room and instructed to "do something useful."

The young slave couldn't help but wonder what was in the letter. It was from King Jude, who was the king of a city not far from Fairy Tail. Being the Dragon Tribe's leader, Natsu never really left his home to explore the rest of the desert. He had heard of the city but the pink haired teen didn't want to get involved with them.

Natsu leaned his head against the wall with a heavy sigh, thinking over ways to get his "master" to let him go free. The pinkette came up with many different tactics (some crazier than others) but none of them seemed like they would even work. One of the crazier plans involved Natsu flirting with Lucy and hopefully making Gray so mad that he would just kick the pink haired slave out of the castle. Another plan was just the pinkette trying to jump out of the window again. Natsu heard a few muffled shouts from the throne room and decided maybe it would better to go back to the parlor.

Gray sat in the same place Natsu had left him earlier. Lucy was absent from her chair and Erza was no were to be seen. Natsu stood there, unsure of what to say or even to say anything at all. Whenever the pinkette was around the prince he had a mixture of feelings. Some of them involved flaming hot anger and some shaky nervousness. The pinkette couldn't help but stare at the prince, admitting he was pretty handsome. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue that complimented the color of his wild hair. Gray was well built but not too bulky and he had nice sculpted features.

"Hey? Earth to Pinky!" A voice shouted, derailing Natsu's train of thought.

"Pinky!?" Natsu repeated, shaking a fist in the air.

Gray only smirked," Well the name suits you I guess."

"Don't go giving me weird nicknames!" The pink haired teen yelled, getting in the prince's face.

"Why not?"

"Cause! What if I started calling you 'The Biggest Bastard on Earth'?"

"That's not really a good nickname." Gray retorted, now out of his chair, nose to nose with Natsu.

With that last retort the prince was tackled to the ground. The teens were rolling on the floor, trying to pin one another down while screaming lame insults. Gray landed a good hit to Natsu's nose, making the pinkette wince. The slave quickly recovered and kicked the raven in the gut, switching their positons. This went on for what seemed like a couple of hours untill Gray flipped Natsu on his back. Natsu glared at the prince, grabbed Gray's arm and twisted. The raven gasped, lost his balance and crashed into the pinkette . The two teen's lips smashed togeather. Their eyes widened, breath and heart rate speeding up, and their faces glowed red. They stayed in the position, as if frozen in shock untill they heard the distant sound of footsteps. Gray scrambled off of Natsu and off the floor. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, face still rosy.

What the hell just happened? Gray thought to himself repeatedly.

Erza stepped into the parlor, looking at Gray and Natsu with a raised eye brow.

"Something wrong you two?" Theknight asked casually.

"N-no..I just um..." Gray stuttered, trying to form a good lie.

"I got tired and decided to take a nap!" Natsu added quickly.

"On the hard marble floor?" Erza muttered in disbelief.

"What can I say? It is just too comfy..." Natsu said through gritted teeth.

"Whatever you say...anyway, King Alastair wants to see Gray in the Throne room and Natsu, go help the cooks in the kitchen." The knight scoffed, crossing her arms.

Gray nodded slowly, not wanting to see his father at the moment. His mind was still reeling after the little wresting accident. Knowing that he didn't have much of a choice, the prince left the parlor and to the throne room. There were two knights stationed at the doors making the raven raise an eyebrow in question. His father must have summoned him for something important to have two knights guarding the door. Gray stepped in front of the knights, who bowed and opened the double doors. The throne room was empty except for the king and his three personal assigned knights: Freed, Laxus, and Mirajane.

"Oh, son, please come here," his father said smoothly and flicked his wrist.

The prince glared at the floor as he stepped up to the group. Freed handed Gray a sealed envelope with a nod. The raven took the envelope gingerly and looked up at his father.

"What is this?"

"A letter that I need you to give to Princess Lucy." The king answered solemnly.

"Why do I have to do it?" Gray grumbled, eyes gazing over the letter.

"Because if I send a knight, he will only send him away. Princess Lucy must give it to King Jude personally."

"What's in the letter?"

"That letter is for King Jude's eyes only, you hear me? If I find out that you had read it there will be hell to pay. Dismissed!" King Alastair sneered.

"Yes sir," the raven hissed.

Gray walked out of the room, hearing hushed whispers behind him. His father never made him pass on letters. The raven wanted to know what the two kings where conversing about so he decided to go somewhere were his father's knights wouldn't see him and read the document.

Gray sighed in annoyance as he walked back to the front room and flash backs of "the accident" crossed his mind. Gray grimaced with a blush, noticing how adorable Natsu had looked at that moment.

The raven opened the large, doors that led outside. The hot wind blew the sand in all directions, making it hard to see. Gray squinted, trying to make out the dirt path that lead to the gateway. A fence blocked all the citizens from entering the castle without permission. Two armed guards, who could have been mistaken as statues, were planted outside the entrance.

"Ahem." Gray muttered as he stepped up to the iron gate.

The two knights spun around with no emotion in their stone cold faces. They both gave a small bow and led the raven through. The wind died down just enough to let the sand settle down to the ground. Gray shielded his face from the sun that beamed right in front of him. It was one of the hotter days in Fiore. Grayheard the sound of cicadas as he made his way to the rich part of the city. No one was out walking around or selling things at the market as the raven trudged on toward the beginning of the poor part of Fairy Tail.

Gray stopped in his tracks and looked at the letter. It was clearly addressed to King Jude and the prince knew that he would probably get into big trouble if his father found out but he shrugged. Gray walked over to an allay that was between two large buildings and leaned against the brick wall that was at the end of it. He opened the letter swiftly and pulled out the stiff, official paper. The raven's eyes scanned over the parchment as he began to read,

Dear King Jude,

I am holding all of the slaves hostage. If you try to wage war, I will hold a public execution. I will personally make sure all of their deaths will be nice and slow. I am sure all of the citizens would love that. As for the arranged marriage, maybe we should just hold off on it till this matter is sorted out.

King Alastair of Fairy Tail

Gray dropped the paper in panic.

Kill all of the slaves? The prince thought with horror. Would dad really kill them?

One other thing made the raven's eyes widen. Natsu's in danger!

With that Gray ran all the way back to the castle. Sand blew in his eyes but it didn't stop him. He finally made it to the entrance of the castle, panting and sweating. The guards gave the prince a curious look but let him through. Gray ran to the double doors without acknowledging the knights and pushed doors open.

Cool air blasted the raven in the face as he stepped into the parlor. He tried to catch his breath as he looked around at the open area. It was silent and empty, no sign of the pink haired slave.

Gray's heart raced as he ran into the kitchen, praying that Natsu was still helping the cooks. The raven hoped that his father hadn't hurt the pinkette. Images of the kiss ran into the prince's mind, making him blush. Though the prince would never admit it, Natsu had grown on him. Gray looked around for the familiar wild pink hair but sighed with defeat. Levy, the castle's head cook, glanced at the prince.

"Are you okay, Your Majesty?" She asked sweetly as she began to cut up some carrots.

"Is Natsu here?" The raven asked quickly, still panting.

"Oh the pink haired one?"

"Y-yeah! Did he leave?"

"Hmm… Yeah he left awhile ago." Levy frowned as she picked up the carrots and dumped them into a boiling pot.

Gray said nothing as he ran out of the kitchen and back into the front room. He had no idea where Natsu was and it freaked the prince out. The teen ran up the stairs, a sheet of sweat forming on his pale face.

"Natsu!" Gray cried out hoping the slave would answer.

Without noticing the knight, Gray crashed into Erza.

"My Prince!" The scarlet haired woman yelled angrily.

"Sorry... Hey have you seen Natsu?"

Erza shook her head and with a nod, walked down the stairs.

Gray frowned and continued to sprint down the hallway. The pinkette had to be somewhere in the castle! The teen's mind was a blur as the panic and adrenaline in him started to slow down. The raven was reminding himself to breathe and think rationally.

Father wouldn't be that cruel... Gray thought, then snorted.

King Alastair was that cruel. He would kill anyone or anything that got in his way. The prince passed one of the bathrooms and the door was cracked open. He heard some shuffling as if something was being moved around.

"Hello?" The raven called out.

He pushed open the door and saw a young boy with dark purple hair cleaning the floor with a small brush. The raven believed the slave's name was Romeo. King Alastair's knights had found Romeo outside the city barriers, starving and filthy. They brought the boy back to the castle and King Alastair would only let him stay if he became a slave. Gray never really saw the kid around due to Romeo being one of Gray's father's personal slaves. The purple haired boy looked up at the prince startled and hurried to get off the semi-clean tiles.

"Prince Gray! I-I'm sorry...I'll g-get out now!" The boy squealed as he fell to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor.

"No it's alright, Romeo," Gray replied with a slight frown. "Have you seen Natsu?"

The slave's eyes brightened. "Yes sir. I saw Wendy and Nastu go out to the garden."

Gray nodded in thanks and ran out of the bathroom, back to the sitting room, then out to the garden. The enclosure was nice and quiet. All the raven could hear was the sound of the wind and some low bird chirps. The teen spotted Wendy looking up at the top of one of the garden walls. The wall was made of rusted metal with shriveled up vines snaking up around it. It was very unpleasant to look at but blue haired slave looked almost concerned.

"Why isn't he here yet?" She muttered, loud enough for Gray to hear.

Suddenly, a head of pink hair ran up to the former dragon slayer. Natsu had come from the other end of the garden which was the only other entrance to the lifeless sanctuary. Gray stepped forward quietly so he would be close enough to get a better look at the slaves but far enough to not be noticed.

"Sorry I took so long...those knights are pretty tough." The pinkette said modestly, rubbing the back of his head.

Gray frowned, noticing little cuts and bruises on Natsu's arms and face. Wendy also noticed and wiped off blood from the Dragon tribe leader's cheek.

"We are going to get out of here this time. Then we can go join that lady." Natsu smiled.

Wendy's blue eyes sparkled with a glimmer of hope.

Gray couldn't help but be mesmerized by the teen's smile. It lit up the whole place and he seemed so sincere. Natsu's green eyes traveled over to Gray.

Damn it! The prince mentally cursed himself as he walked over to the two slaves.

"What are you guys doing?" The raven asked like he hadn't been listening the whole time.

Natsu sneered at Gray and stood protectively in front of Wendy. "We are getting the out of here."

The teen prince shook his head with a sigh. He knew that Natsu would be better off leaving but the darker part of himself begged to differ.

"What about your powers?" Gray murmured, crossing his arms.

"I really don't give a damn at this point, my prince." Natsu snapped in a mocking tone.

The pinkette grabbed Wendy's wrist and walked up to the wall.

"How do you plan to get up and over?" Gray smirked.

Natsu growled, "Shut up!"

"Look Natsu you guys are in da—"

"I would recommend that you two stay for a while," a cold voice cooed.

Gray turned to face his father, Freed, Mirajane, and Romeo. Romeo was quivering behind King Alastair with tears forming in his eyes. The purple haired boy mouthed 'I'm sorry' and Gray gulped. Freed and Mirajane walked up to Wendy and Natsu, swords drawn.

"I believe this deserves a punishment." King Alastair snickered.

"F-father I—" Gray stuttered.

The king's cold eyes landed on Gray. "I don't want to hear a word from you. You tried to help them escape."

Freed grabbed Natsu's shoulder, only to be hit in the face. The green haired knight hissed and swung his sword. Natsu cried out in pain as he stumbled to the sandy ground, clutching his bloody leg. The pink haired teen struggled to get up but Freed stepped on his head keeping him trapped to the ground.

"Natsu!" Wendy yelled as Mirajane grabbed her.

Gray looked at Natsu with worry as King Alastair put his hand on the prince's shoulder.

"You three will be sleeping somewhere special tonight."


	5. Torture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Gray was leaning up against a cold stone wall with an irritated look on his face. He was pissed and hurt. His father accused him for helping the slaves escape and now the three teens were in the royal prison. The royal prison was not royal what so ever. It smelled like mould and it smelled musty. The air was heavy and it was hard to take a proper breath. The walls of the cell were damp with mildew and freezing while the floor was just dirt. Natsu was laying in the corner, eyes barely open while Wendy fretted over the pinkette's leg. The wound Freed had made was pretty deep but according to Natsu he felt just fine. Of course Gray knew that was a lie because the pink haired teen's face would scrunch up in pain every few minutes.

"Is he going to be okay?" Gray questioned as he looked over at Wendy.

The bluenette merely nodded with a frown, resting her hand on Natsu's knee. Gray pressed the back of his head on the wall and closed his eyes for a few minutes, imaging something better than being in a cell.

"Give...Give him his powers back!" Wendy suddenly cried, making the raven's eyes fly open.

He looked at the former Dragon tribe member, startled and guilty.

"I-I can't..."

Wendy stood up and walked over to the prince, hands balled up into fists.

"Wendy don't-" Natsu muttered, reaching out for her.

"Just do it already...Who cares if the King gets his panties in a twist? Natsu and I don't deserve to be locked in this hell hole! We never deserved to be taken from our home…to be taken from our family. Don't go saying that you can't because King Alastair will slap you on the damn wrist! I want you to free him!" The blue haired slave shouted and for good measure slapped the raven across the face.

Everything got silent; all Gray heard was Wendy trying to catch her breath. Natsu sat up and looked at the girl almost amazed. Before anyone could say another word there was a loud squeak from the dungeon entrance. Gray held his breath, praying that no one had heard what Wendy had yelled. A man with spiky yellow hair stopped in front of the teens' cell.

"Laxus…" Gray sneered. The knight smiled maliciously.

The raven should have known that his father might go to the extreme to teach them a message. Laxus was one of the king's personal knights and the castle's torturer.

"Don't worry, my prince. All you have to do is watch~" The man chuckled as he slowly unlocked the cell door.

Natsu instantly stood up and pushed Wendy behind him. The pinkette winced as he reached for his leg and Laxus walked in the cell.

"Now...who wants to go first?"

"Laxus, don't hurt them!" Gray commanded.

"Prince Gray… you know very well that all the knights follow your dad before you." The man scoffed casually as he reached out to grab Natsu's arm.

"Tell my father I'll be tortured instead!" Gray spitted out.

The prince wasn't sure why he had offered himself to torture but he sure as hell didn't want to hear his friends scream.

"You care for these savages more than you do for yourself?" The knight asked, stepping away from Natsu and Wendy.

Natsu looked over at Gray with an unreadable expression on his face as they all waited for the prince's answer. Gray stood up, hoping that Laxus wouldn't attack him. The raven couldn't believe what he was about to do and hoped that his father wouldn't murder him. He faced Natsu who gave him a confused look.

Gray smirked. "Yeah…I do."

He planted a kiss on the former Dragon slayer's lips causing Wendy and Laxus to gape. Natsu's green eyes widened but slowly closed. The two stood there for a few minutes, escaping into their own little world.

"Well, I don't mean to ruin the moment but I think it is time for some screams," Laxus muttered, pulling Gray away from Natsu.

Natsu looked at Gray with despair and shock then his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The dragon slayer crumpled to the dirt floor.

"What the—" Laxus asked looking at Natsu's form.

Wendy bent down to Natsu with worry painted plain on her face.

Gray gave Laxus an amused look. The raven hoped that Natsu would wake up real soon and kick the knight's ass. Laxus glared at Gray with sudden anger.

"You just had to do that didn't you? Wait untill the king hears about this! Your punishment will surely be more than torture!"

"I don't care. As long as they get out I will be just fine," Gray retorted, getting into a fighting stance, ready to face the knight for the time being.

Laxus noticed and drew his sword. "Do you really want to fight me?..."

"He won't have to,"a strong voice said. Laxus turned around to face Erza.

"What are you doing here? The king said no knights are allowed down here." The yellow-haired man replied, sword lowered a bit.

Erza pulled out her sharp blade with one swift moment and attacked the man with fury.

Gray wanted badly to aid her, but knew she helped them by distracting the knight. Gray picked up Natsu's lifeless body with a grunt and motioned to Wendy to follow him. The slave looked at the prince with panic but gazed over at Erza and Laxus who were going at it and it seemed they were both matched in strength. The red-head caught Gray's eyes and simply smiled as the teens made their way to the entrance door. Laxus looked over at the escapees with anger but was stabbed in the arm as a result. The man grabbed his arm and looked back at his opponent. Gray prayed that his knight would make it out alive.

Wendy and Gray climbed the stairs, the prince having a harder time with Natsu dangling from his shoulder. They ended up in the back of the kitchen. The raven gulped, unsure of how exactly they were going to get out of the castle without being caught.

"How are we going to get out of here safely?" Wendy stuttered, voicing Gray's worries.

"I have no idea..."

Wendy looked at the prince with despair as they quietly walked through the kitchen, thankful for the room being empty. Natsu let out a small groan as the group made their way into the parlor. Gray hoped that the pinkette would wake up soon so they could get out of the castle faster. Having Natsu on his shoulder was slowing him down. The teen was a lot heavier than he looked.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice asked from behind them.

Gray cursed under his breath and turned around, only to have a sharp sword pointed at his chest. Three female knights stood there with swords drawn and eyes filled with blood lust. The raven only recognised one, whose name was Evergreen. He gulped as he set Natsu on the floor carefully. The pink haired leader twitched but didn't open his eyes. Wendy stood next to Gray, shaky fists in the air. Evergreen laughed a little at the pathetic scene in front of her.

"Your father made sure there were extra knights on patrol. I am happy we happened to come into the parlor just in time." The knight behind her chuckled.

Gray had no idea how he was going to fight the knights without Evergreen's sword piercing his heart.

"I am sure my dad wouldn't want me dead right?" The raven muttered, trying to buy some time.

"He never said you had to be put back in the prison alive." The brown-haired woman sneered.

"But-that's treason!" Wendy yelled with shock.

All three of the knights just shrugged and the tip of Evergreen's sword pressed a little harder into Gray's chest. The raven hoped that he would make it out of the situation alive.

XXX

Natsu was having the strangest dream. He was taken away from his home and was now a slave for a snobby rich prince. After a while, Natsu slowly begun to feel a little something toward the raven. Then he tried to escape with Wendy and they all got caught. He was thrown into a prison with the prince and the other slave. A yellow-haired man came into the cell and was about to hurt them. Then all of a sudden the raven haired teen kissed Natsu and-

Natsu's eyes flew open and he was breathing hard like he had just ran a marathon. His body felt tough and hot. The pinkette felt like he had just swallowed some lava but it didn't burn. Natsu felt filled with power. The pink haired teen looked around, realising his dream wasn't a "dream" after all. He was laying down on the hard title in the castle parlor. In front of him was Gray and Wendy with three knights looking at them like they were pieces of meat. Natsu slowly got up off the floor with a hiss in pain. His left leg throbbed and was covered in blood. Wendy turned around to face the teen. The pinkette only smiled his signature smile and limped to stand beside Gray.

"So what did I miss?" He asked, pulling up his fist that were set ablaze.

Evergreen's eyes darted to the pinkette, her sword swiftly moved from Gray to Natsu but she was just a bit too late. Natsu punched the knight right in the cheek, sending her to the floor. Evergreen's sword flew in the air and Gray caught it. The knight scrambled off the ground and put up her fists. Natsu grinned and the two began to fight, leaving Wendy and Gray to face the two other women. The knights let out a battle cry and charged toward the escapees. Gray held up his new sword in defence, trying to remember some of his practice. His father had made him take some sword lessons but the prince rarely payed attention. The raven raised the sword and sliced down hitting something. The knight he had hit hissed in pain, drawing back her arm that dripped blood. Gray's heart beat so fast that he thought he would pass out.

Everything from then on was like a blur. Gray and Wendy held off the two knights and Natsu was close to beating Evergreen. Suddenly, the kitchen doors flew open and Levy ran into the parlor with a steak knife. She ran up to Gray and began to fend off the two female knights.

"What are you doing, Levy?" The raven yelled over the sound of fighting.

"Just helping, my prince! Go on now! I can handle them!" The cook shouted back, swinging her knife skillfully.

"Natsu! Come on!" The prince yelled as he grabbed Wendy's wrist. "Thank you, Levy..."

Natsu turned to face Gray, his flaming fists dying down. Evergreen laid knocked out on the title floor. The pinkette ran up to his friends and the three ran toward the door that opened up to the outside. The prince pushed open the double doors and the group ran down the dirt path. Of course none of them had thought about the guards at the front door. When they reached the gates, Gray was shocked to see Princess Lucy, standing over the body of one of the guards. She looked up at them and smiled.

"I am glad you could make it. Now let's get out of here."

XXX


	6. Rebels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Before Gray knew it, he was in the poor part of Fairy Tail. The raven couldn't help but give Lucy glances of curiosity. The prince wondered why the princess was helping them and why she was in the city in the first place. A cold breeze ruffled through the raven's hair, making goose bumps appere on his pale skin. The sun was already down and the silvery moon hung in the dark sky. Wendy was helping Natsu walk due to the wound on his leg growing worse.

"Lucy where are we going?" Gray called out, getting fed up with guessing.

"To the rebel base." She merely whispered as they trekked toward a broken down shack.

The shack didn't seem out of place because most of the buildings in the poor part of town were broken down and close to collapse. The building in front of them had large holes in the roof and the door was hanging on one hinge. The windows were all shattered or boarded up with wooden planks, it didn't seem like a super secret rebel base.

The group walked inside the small shack and was surprised to see nothing but a bare space covered in cob webs. The whole place had a mouldy smell to it that made Gray's face crunch up in disgust. In the corner of the floor was what looked to be a closed hatch with a rusted handle attached to the floor. Lucy walked over to the hatch and opened it slowly.

"Privyet." The blonde whispered down the hatch, making it echo.

The word she spouted was quickly returned and the princess smiled at her little group.

"Alright, it's safe to go."

Natsu limped up to the hatch and Gray followed suit, The two looked down the hatch. It was a deep, pitch dark hole that led to only God knows where.

"Down there? Are you kidding me?" Natsu whined, looking down at his blood crusted leg.

Lucy looked at the Dragon tribe leader with some sympathy but jumped down the hole. Gray's blue eyes widened, wondering if she would be okay when she landed. There was a loud thud and Lucy's voice range through the hole.

"Now it's your turn!"

Gray looked down the hatch and gulped but jumped. The wind whistled in his ears as he fell in the dark. Suddenly, he landed on a filthy mattress with a loud thump and torch light filled his eyes. Lucy and a orange haired teen stood in front of him. The teen gave him a disapproving look and turned his gaze to Lucy.

"We made no promise to keep the prince here." The male said, holding the torch aloft.

"Loke, I know but he can be of value to us!" Lucy retorted, looking over at the prince who was confused.

Loke only scoffed as the blonde helped the raven up. Soon, Natsu and Wendy fell on top of the mattress. The pink haired teen let out a groan in pain as he stood up with Wendy's help.

"Our Leader will not be happy with Gray being here." Loke mumbled as the group walked down a dark, damp passage way.

The passage way was not lit and the walls were moss covered stone bricks. Gray helped Natsu walk because Wendy had warn herself out. The pinkette's arm was slung over the prince's neck and the raven's hand was around the dragon slayer's hip. Natsu didn't look at Gray the whole time, with a pink hue on his tan cheeks. Gray could feel heat radiate off of the pink haired teen's body as they followed Loke and Lucy to a small wooden door. Lucy knocked on the door twice and the door swung open with a loud creak. Standing in the door way was a woman with long brown hair and a beer mug in her hand. She smiled slightly as she took a sip of her beer.

"So these are the people you were talking about, Princess?" The woman asked.

"Yes. This is Gray, Wendy, and Natsu." The blonde replied gesturing to the escapees. "Guys, this is Cana."

Gray nodded in hello and only received a glare from her. No one the prince had met so far seemed to like him very much. Cana led them inside to what looked like a living room. Two brown couches rested on the far side of the room with a few dusty throw pillows thrown carelessly on top. In the middle of the room was a ladder that led far up. Gray could hear the hushed chatter of other people through the door next to him.

"It's dinner time so go clean up and meet us in the kitchen." Cana announced as she walked through the door leaving the rest of the group behind.

XXX

Gray and Wendy managed to help Natsu to the bathroom. Lucy had help the pinkette clean up his sliced leg and wrapped it in a flimsy bandage.

"Thanks." Natsu smiled weakly.

"Hopefully it won't get infected." Lucy replied and shook her head. "Who ever did that got you good."

Gray nodded slowly, "It was one of my father's knights."

Before the blonde could reply there was a knock at the door.

"Lucy? Are you in there?" A male voice yelled, knocking the door repeatedly.

Lucy huffed and opened the door. Standing there was a blue haired man with a peculiar red tattoo running down his left eye. Gray gaped at the man.

"J-Jellal?" The raven stuttered.

Jellal smirked and bowed mockingly. Gray only stared, the blue haired man used to be his other personal knight. Erza and Jellal had a great relationship with the prince and naturally with each other. That all changed when the former knight started to disobey the king and threatened to one day over rule him. Before King Alastair could have exiled or executed him, the man seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth but there he was...right in front of the prince.

"I don't think we can allow Gray to stay here tonight." Jellal announced, glancing over to Lucy.

The blonde glared at the man, "Where should he go then?"

XXX

Gray ended up being sent to another building that was far away from the base. The building was a bit nicer due to it being right next to the rich part of town. It was only one story but was furnished and even had a few cans of food in the cupboard. The raven understood why he was sent away from the base but he wasn't happy about it. He would have to spend the night alone in a foreign place in the part of Fairy Tail where everyone hated the royals. It was nerve-wracking to the prince but he tried to keep calm and make it through the night. Princess Lucy had dropped him off and left with only a hushed goodbye. He had so many questions that he needed answered but knew that he would have to wait to ask them.

Gray sat down on the bed that was near the front door. The bed squealed as he moved to lay down and looked up at the white ceiling. Millions of thoughts and memories ran through his head. Why did he run away? What happened to Erza and Levy? Will he be able to go back home soon? Will the rebels ever trust him? What will King Alastair do now? How is Natsu doing?

Gray snorted at the thought of his former slave. The raven somehow ended up warming up to him even though he resented having him in the first place. He wondered what would happen to the dragon slayer after everything was over.

'Of course he wouldn't stay with me.' Gray thought as he rolled over on his side.

His heart began to ache at all of the questions and all of the outcomes that he came up with. The teen really didn't want Natsu to leave. He wished that he would have never met the pinkette in the first place. If they never met then none of the horrible things would have happened. Gray would still be at home with Erza and he would be safe but did he really feel safe in the castle? Didn't the thought of his dad keep him up at night? The raven wished his mother was still around. She would have never put Gray in the castle prison or get him a slave as a gift. Sure, Queen Ur had been stubborn and always forced Gray to do his very best but he missed that. His mother had sacrificed herself for his protection. Gray slipped into a memory he wished to forget completely.

XXX

"I should have never had a son as worthless as you!" Gray's father boomed.

The ten year old prince was quivering on the practice room floor as King Alastair hovered over him. Gray had failed to create ice once again. His mother could use Ice Make Magic but not matter how hard Gray tried he couldn't make anything. The king had demanded that the prince be able to use magic like his mother though Alastair couldn't use it himself. Queen Ur stood a few inches from the pair with an angered face.

"Don't you dare tell our son that!" She suddenly shouted, her arms flaying in the air.

King Alastair didn't look at his wife and only proceeded to hit Gray until there was blood on his knuckles. The ten year old cried out, trying to block his father's blow.

"Please! I'm sorry, daddy!" The raven yelped.

The king pulled back his fist one more time but Ur grabbed her husband's wrist.

"Enough." She muttered in a low voice.

Freed, Erza, and Jellal were standing near the doors watching the event unfold with straight face, except for Jellal. The knight's sword was slightly out of it's sheth and his teeth were gritted.

King Alastair ripped his wrist out of Queen Ur's grip and hissed at her,"You are not allowed to tell me what to do is that clear?"

"Dear, I have been quiet for quite some time now. I have had more than enough. I will not allow you to treat Gray like this any longer." The woman declared, eyes level with the king's.

"Freed, Erza, and Jellal." The King yelled and the three knights ran over. "I want her dead."

The room was dead silent as the knights glared at the king with disbelief.

"What are you talking about, My Majesty? We can't!" Erza gasped.

"Do what I tell you or you will be sentenced to death as well! My word is law." The man growled loudly.

Gray felt tears run down his face as he ran up to his dad and began hitting his back with tiny fists.

"No! You can't hurt mommy!"

"That's enough from you." King Alastair merely said as he turned and sent the boy flying across the floor.

"Gray!" Ur cried out and reached out for her son.

King Alaistair glared daggeres at the knights who were running reluctently over to the Queen. Gray looked up to see Erza, Jellal, and Freed trying to subdue his mother but they weren't putting much effort into it. Freed ran up to Ur with his sword slightly drawn but was blocked up a sudden thick sheet of ice infront of him. Erza's sword was knocked out of her hand by a shard of ice that flew her way. Gray was proud to see his mother fight back and it seemed to be that she was winning. Suddenly the King growled in frustrtation as he picked up Erza's fallen sword.

"Looks like I have to do this myself." He muttered and walked confedently up to Queen Ur who was being loosly held by Freed.

She manged to pulled out of Freed's grip sending herself staggering foward right into the king's sword. The Queen looked at her son who was still lying on his back behind the King. She smiled at him and whispered:

"I love you."

The king only smirked as he withdrew the sword and stepped back alittle, making his wife's body collapse on the ground.

XXX

Natsu was sitting on a cot that was in a room he was staying in with Wendy. The room was well lit and it felt nice and cosy but the pinkette had other things on his mind. He was going over the events that had happened. One thing stuck the dragon slayer as odd. Gray had kissed him and he had passed out after that. Then out of the blue he had his powers back! Of course Natsu wasn't too dense not to know the kiss somehow gave him back his dragon slayer magic. In the back of the pinkette mind he couldn't help but like the way the kiss felt.

'Woah! I did not just think that!' The pink haired teen mentally scolded as he continued to dwell on the kiss.

Natsu wasn't the type of person to fall in love with another person so easily but there was just something about the prince that he couldn't get over. The pink haired teen hoped that the feelings could simply fade away but deep inside he had a feeling it wouldn't be so easy. Another thing that he was thinking over was whether or not he should leave the rebel base and go home. Of course he would take Wendy with him. He didn't have to stay with Gray any longer. He should go and make sure his tribe was doing okay but why did he have this sinking feeling in his chest when he thought about leaving the prince behind? Natsu's head started to pound as he laid down and closed his eyes, wanting all of his thoughts to go away.

XXX

Gray gasped as he shot out of bed. He wiped away tears that dripped on the ratty blanket below. Gray wished he could just burn that memory completely but no matter how hard he tried to forget it always haunted him. He noticed that the sun had risen into the sky and felt his stomach let out a low growl in hunger. Reluctantly, the raven got out of bed and walked over to the cupboard. He opened the little door and spotted a dented can of beans.

"Great." The prince mumbled and took out the can.

He really didn't like beans but he felt like he was starving. The only problem was that he didn't have anything to open the can with. Gray cursed and started to bang the end of the can on the counter like an idiot.

"Do you need this?" A voice chuckled behind him.

Gray spun around to face Jellal who was holding a can opener with amusement in his eyes. Gray felt his face light up with embarrassment as he grabbed the can opener grumpily.

"You could at least say thank you." Jellal scoffed as he sat down at the small round table that was in the middle of the room.

"Yeah yeah." Gray muttered as he fiddled with the opener.

Suddenly, someone else ran through the open doorway with a flyer in her hand and a crazed look in her eyes. She instantly handed the flyer to Jellal.

"One of the king's knights were handing these out..." The white haired woman panted.

Jellal took the flyer and looked her over with hazy eyes. "Thank you Lissanna."

The blue haired man looked over the official looking piece of paper and his eyes instantly widened. He stood up from his chair.

"That bastard!" Jellal yelled, slamming his fist on the nearby table.

"What is it?" Gray asked, dropping the can on the floor and took the flyer from the former knight's hand.

The prince looked over the flyer and nearly collapsed.

CITIZENS WELCOME TO THE PUBLIC TOWN SQUARE AT NINE TONIGHT!

Your King is holding a public execution of two traitors of Fairy Tail.

He would like you all to attend and watch.

Traitors being executed are as follows:

Erza Scarlet for defying the King and fighting against Fairy Tail.

Levy McGarden for fighting against Fairy Tail.

Gray's throat grew dry as the flyer left his hand and floated to the floor.

"We have to save them."

XXX


	7. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Natsu was sitting awkwardly in the dining hall. Wendy was still asleep and Lucy had left the other night and went back home so her father wouldn't worry too much. Smoke rose from the pan that Cana was cooking with a shrivelled up egg sizzled in the pan. Some burnt pieces of bacon were on a plate next to her and a bottle of whisky was in the brunette's hand. Natsu was surprised about how early he had woken up. He was about to go and wake up Wendy when the door flew open. Gray ran inside along with Jellal and a girl with short white hair.

Gray waved a paper in the pinkette's face. He snatched it out of the raven's hand with a hiss of annoyance.

"What is it?" Natsu grumbled as he eyes scanned over the flyer.

His head shot up with wide green eyes. He couldn't believe that two people who tried to help them were being sentenced to death. The pink haired teen saw the alarm in Gray's face and he felt bad for the prince . The pinkette's eyes glanced over to Jellal, whose face showed no expression but his hands were balled up into fists.

"So will you help or not?" Gray asked, looking the pinkette right in the eyes.

Natsu didn't know what to do. He wanted to help the girls that he owed his escape to, but then again he didn't want to get into any further trouble.

"Please Natsu," The raven added in a hushed tone.

The pinkette nodded his head in agreement and got up off of his chair.

"When are we going to leave?"

XXX

Gray followed Natsu and Jellal to the rebel's 'battle planning' room. In the middle of the large room was a huge wooden table with paper and pens scattered on top. There was a whiteboardon the left wall and two couches on the other side. Gray noted that it didn't seem as high-tech as he had imagined but he had more important things on his mind. He was worried. The prince prayed that they would be able to save his knight. He had known the red-head for as long as he could remember. Erza was a very important person in the raven's life and he didn't want to lose her. Jellal walked over to the table and grabbed a pen. Natsu stood next to him and glared at the blank piece of paper.

"What is our plan?" Gray asked, walking over to the table.

"Obviously we can't just go walking out there without some sort of disguise," the pinkette said.

"We can use some hoods," Jellal replied as he scribbled something on the paper.

They spent the next hour trying to come up with a plan to save Erza and Levy. Lucy arrived in the middle of their planning and stayed to help. In the end they gathered a small group of people to join them on their rescue mission. Gray felt his heart stammer in his chest. The prince didn't know if the plan would work out. He knew his father had a few tricks up his sleeve.

After they looked over the plan and made sure it was as fool-proof as it could be, Jellal went to gather the people they went to check on the food supplies, leaving Natsu and Gray alone.

Gray looked over at the pinkette who was looking down at his feet. The raven felt he should say something but didn't know what. An awkward silence hung between them.

Maybe I should talk about what happened in the prison? He thought and opened his mouth to speak.

"About what happened back at the castle...I uh understand why you...kissed me," Natsu said suddenly, looking up at the prince.

Gray scratched the back of his head, a red hue forming on his cheeks. "If I didn't do it then...we wouldn't have been able to get out. It's not like I feel that way about you."

The raven could have sworn that he saw slight sadness in the dragon slayer's green eyes.

"Right...Well I better go and see what Wendy is up to," Natsu muttered as he stormed out of the room, leaving a dazed prince behind.

XXX

Natsu had a mixture of feelings running through his body. He didn't know how to make sense of them all. The pinkette felt hurt and sad but he didn't know exactly why. He shouldn't feel sad because the prince didn't care about him in a romantic way, right? The pinkette walked into the kitchen and spotted familiar blue hair. Wendy was helping Cana clean up the mess she made when she was cooking breakfast.

"Hey Natsu!" The bluenette smiled cheerfully as she spotted the pink haired teen.

Natsu smiled weakly at his friend. "Hey."

Wendy frowned and put down a towel she was holding. She crossed her arms and stood in front of the pink haired dragon slayer.

"What happened?" She asked softly.

Natsu shook his head with a fake laugh. "Nothing at all! Do you guys need some help?"

The pinkette didn't want to tell Wendy anything that had happened over the past hour or so. He didn't want her to go with them on the rescue mission. The pink haired teen was afraid that if she came along then she would get hurt or something bad would happen.

Cana peered over to the pair and shrugged. "I think we are about done so you two can do whatever."

The brunette grabbed her beer and staggered out of the kitchen. Wendy was still glaring daggers at Natsu. He knew that she wasn't fully convinced that nothing was going on.

"Did Gray say something to you?" She said suddenly, sitting down on the nearest chair.

Natsu sighed but shook his head no.

Wendy's face softened and she smiled. "Well if something ever does happen I am here for you, okay?"

XXX

Gray was still in the strategy planning room. He was running the events with Natsu over in his mind.

Did I say something wrong? He thought with slight worry.

The prince didn't think he did anything to offend his former slave. Gray's heart ached a bit at the thought of telling Natsu he didn't feel that way about him. He only told him the truth, right? Suddenly the door swung open, a fiquare walked into the room. Gray felt like his whole word was about to shatter around him.

"Hey Je-" The teen lifted his head up from a book he was reading and his eyes widened.

The prince couldn't believe his own eyes. Standing in front of him was someone who was dead.

"But you...you died..." Gray stuttered, mind still a blur.

The white-haired teen scoffed. "So, that's what he told you, huh?"

"Lyon..." Gray gaped.

"It's been a long time, little brother."

XXX

Nine year old Gray had locked himself in his room, face pressed into his pillow. The boy was holding back all of his tears and anger. Fairy Tail had just held a burial for their beloved Queen. No one had questioned what the king had told them about how she passed. The raven remember his father saying something about a sickness that his mother had had for a long while and no one questioned him. Gray hadn't talked to anyone, not even his older brother Lyon, who persistently knocked on his door.

There was a knock at his door and once again, the prince ignored it.

"Gray!" A voice boomed.

The raven quivered, realizing it was his personal knight's voice. She had been trying to get him to go to his lessons but he refused.

"Prince Gray please come out," Erza said a little softer. "I know this is hard...but you need to come out of your room sooner or later!"

'I choose later,' Gray thought stubbornly, burying his face deeper into the pillow. Tears pricked at the prince's eyes as he thought of the stories his mother had told him before he went to bed.

The door's lock let out a loud click and the door opened slowly.

"It's time for you to get to your next practice." A voice hissed and Gray's body tensed.

He had forgotten that King Alastiar had the key to his room.The prince decided to stay silent, hoping his father would leave him alone.

"Not listening, I see?" The king scoffed, stepping closer to his son's bed. "I am going to fix this attitude of yours, Gray."

Before the king could move any further, there was another obstacle in his way.

"I think you have done enough, father."

A fifteen year old Prince Lyon was standing in front of his dad with a sword drawn.

"What do you think you are doing? You dare to threaten me?"Alastair spat.

Gray looked over at his brother and stared.

"Are you crazy? What are you doing, Lyon?" The boy cried out as Lyon continued to stand his ground.

Erza stood in the door way, sword also drawn. Her body looked tense and she had a worried expression on her face.

"This is treason! Do you hear me, boy?" King Alastair growled, pointing a finger in Lyon's face.

"I saw what you did to mother!" Lyon hissed, raising his sword to meet the king's finger.

"W-what are you talking about? I did nothing to Queen Ur..."The king glared, pulling back his hand and made it into a fist.

"You murdered her..." The teen muttered, tears sliding down his cheeks. "Why did you do that to her? Why did you do that to mom!"

The white-haired teen gritted his teeth and let out a roar of rage. He charged at the stern king with his sword.

Gray felt his heart ache as he watched the scene unfold. He jumped out of his bed and grabbed his brother's wrist before he would do something he would regret. Lyon looked at the raven with surprise and the prince could feel his brother's body relax.

"Listen Lyon!" Their father suddenly spit out as he was retreating out of the room. "I want to see you in the Throne room at seven!"

With that last threat, the door slammed shut. Lyon slumped down to the floor, tears spilling down his chin. Gray started to feel tears fall and the room fell silent.

XXX

At seven Lyon was forced to go to the throne room. He was met by a cold father and a dozen knights. Lyon showed no fear on the outside but he was pretty unnerved on the inside. He had no idea what punishments the king had in store for him. Sadly his sword had also been taken away from him so there was no way out of what was to come.

"So you decided to come after all." Alistair chuckled, resting his face in his hand.

"I didn't have much of a choice," Lyon muttered, looking back at Jellal and Erza.

Suddenly the king stood, a stormy look in his eyes."I'm tired of your disobedience! Of your meddling, your...your silly sympathy for the scum." Alastair's lips curled in disgust at one unfortunate servant slave who tried to blend in with the wall. "I've tried long enough to make you see things my way, which I now realise was a waste of time! Even Gray would make a better king than you! Seize him!"

Before the knights had a chance to move, Jellal stood in front of the prince.

"You will have to go through me first." The knight threatened, pointing his sword at his bewildered comrades.

"Do what you wish," The king said in a bored tone. "I can easily replace you."

"Have you lost your mind?" Freed hissed, inching closer to the pair. "There is no way you can fend off all of us!"

Erza hadn't moved from her spot. Her body was stiff and a cold sweat had formed on her skin. The red-head glared at Jellal with worry. The knights began to press forward, making Lyon and Jellal back up till they hit the wall. Lyon felt his heart stammer in his chest. He knew that there was no way out of the situation. Freed swung his sword and Jellal tried his best to block it. Meanwhile, a few other knights swarmed around the already busy knight. Lyon was watching them intently and dreaded the outcome of the fight, A scream pierced the sound of the clashing of metal. Jellal gripped his arm, blood seeped through his fingers. Freed drew back his sword with a smirk.

"Jellal!" Erza cried out but seemed to be frozen in place.

The blue haired knight gritted his teeth and continued to fight.

Lyon was memorized by the how persistent the knight was. Without noticing, Evergreen had made her way to the prince. Jellal was too busy with the other knights that she was able to sneak over to the white-haired teen. She drew back her sword and jabbed it right into the unsuspecting prince's back. Lyon screeched from the sudden pain in his back. It felt like fire was spreading all over his body.

The world seemed to slow down as he sank down to his knees. Lyon felt like the world was against him. Everything that had happened didn't seem right and he hated it. He hated his father for killing his mother, hurting Gray, and putting him through all of it. Something cold seemed to flow through the prince's body, along with his rage for his father. Evergreen moved in front of the prince and drew her sword back once more but before she could strike the teen again, her body was covered in ice.

The fighting in the room can to a halt and everyone looked at him and the knight.

Lyon realized what had happened. Somehow he had frozen the knight solid.

'How?'

He stared at his hands in astonishment. His gaze flicked to the empty queen's chair, then to his father who had a surprised look on his face. Suddenly he understood that his powers awakening wasn't a mere coincidence, it was karma. He was meant to finish what Ur started and avenge her death with his ice. He tried to stand, but sudden dizziness overwhelmed him and he blacked out.

XXX

Gray looked at his older brother with awe.

"Then how did you escape?" The raven asked curious for the ending.

Lyon shrugged. "Jellal must have escaped with me somehow. I woke up two days later in a shack with him."

The prince stood up and tackled his brother to the ground. "I've missed you so much!" He squeezed Lyon so hard he heard his brother sputter. Gray's smile was so huge he thought his face might split in two. Lyon is back. Lyon is back. The thought repeated over and over in Gray's mind. He felt tears prickle his eyes. Lyon's not dead.

Lyon laughed and put an arm around Gray's shoulders. "Yeah, me too." He ruffled Gray's hair like he used to six years ago. "Me too."

XXX

It was exactly eight thirty and there was a group of people standing in the living room. Natsu was standing next to Gray and Lyon, who the pinkette had found out was the prince's older brother. He scanned over the group and felt hopeful.

This will work out, the pink haired leader thought. Jellal stood in front of everyone, explaining the plan.

"So one group will go on east side of the square and the rest will go on the west. The objective is to save Erza and Levy at all costs. Now I am sure that the king has guards around the square and the execution platform so I want you all to be careful."

"Natsu and Lyon will be our distraction. They can use magic so it will be easier for them to fight off many attackers at once. Once the guards have their attention on them, the groups will move in."

Natsu nodded slowly, not sure how to feel about being the distraction. Cana and Lucy helped hand out the hoods. They were all made from different patches of material that were stitched together but they would make it easy to blend in. Natsu slipped his on and put up his hood. The pinkette looked over to Gray and was met by his dark blue eyes. They were both in different groups and Natsu was a little nervous for his safety.

"Be careful out there okay?" Gray whispered and smiled a little.

Natsu only smirked as his fist blew up in flames.

"You don't have to worry about me."

The pinkette saw Gray blush a bit.

"I am not worrying..."

"Alright let's head out!" Jellal yelled.

The group erupted in cheers as they all marched out of the base.

XXX


	8. Erza and Levy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Gray was walking next to Lucy, looking at his feet. The wind outside stung Gray's face. A breeze ripped through the sand, sending it flying. The sky was all different shades of pink, orange, and yellow and the moon slowly raised in the sky.

The prince was scared. He didn't know how the whole plan would play out. He was also worried about Natsu...Gray mentally scolded himself for even being worried about the former slave. He had powers so he would be fine-

The raven suddenly slammed into the back of the person in front of him. The group came to a halt.

"Whats going on?" Gray whispered to Lucy, who gazed over to the front of the group.

"It looks like there is a whole bunch of guards inspecting people before they go to the square," the teen replied with a frown.

Gray hoped that Lyon and Natsu would start the distraction soon. A sudden gust of strong wind blew from in front. Everyone instantly grabbed their hoods. Gray's reaction was to late and his hood flew off. Right when that happened, a blue haired woman was making her way past the group so she could get to the public square. She instantly spotted the prince and let out a squeal.

"Prince Gray!" She called out, hearts in her eyes.

Gray froze in place, his hand against the fabric of the hood. He recognised the girl's voice. Her name was Juvia. The prince's blue eyes were widened and he hoped if he didn't answer her then she would leave, but the girl did just the opposite. The blunette pranced over to the raven.

"Why are you ignoring Juvia?" She whimpered as she got closer to the teen.

Freed and Evergreen ran up behind Juvia. Freed placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile.

"Is something wrong, Miss?"

The teen shook her head but smiled cheerfully. "Juvia just saw Prince Gray and thought Juvia would say hello."

Evergreen grinned with fake sweetness. "Oh really? Where did you see him?"

Gray gulped and looked up at Lucy, hoping she would know what to do. Juvia pointed at the group and the knights stalked over to them.

Lucy grabbed Gray by the shoulders and pulled him into a nearby alleyway. The rest of group wasn't as lucky. They all hid their faces and tried their best to act natural as the knights questioned them. Gray could hear the conversation between Freed and Jellal.

"Can you tell me you name, sir?" Freed asked in a suspicious tone.

Before Jellal could open his mouth to answer a loud explosion sounded ahead of them. Freed and Evergreen ran off, forgetting about the group and focusing on the new disturbance.

Jellal smirked and made a 'follow me' motion with his hand. The group ran off in the direction of the platform. The prince heard the knight's cries and Natsu's shouts. He gulped as he saw the execution platform. Few guards held the girls and pressed swords to their necks. The girl's arms and legs were bound together. Tears streamed down Levy's face while Erza's face looked angered.

The whole crowd had their eyes on Natsu and Lyon who were knocking out knights left and right. King Alistair sat on a throne next to the platform with a smug look on his face. Mirajane and Elfman stood at his side.

The group were making their way through the crowd to get to Erza and Levy. Before they made it half way through the sea of people, Jellal hopped up on the platform. Gray watched in excitement as the bluenette walked up to the guard who held the sword to Levy's neck.

We are going to save them! The prince cheered.

The former knight pushed the gaurds to the side and stepped behind Levy. Gray saw a grin creep on the man's face. Erza looked up at Jellal and her eyes widened. The blue haired man gripped the sword and with one quick motion-

The sounds of the battle raging came to an immediate stop. Everyone stared blankly at Jellal and Levy. Gray felt his throat close up and his whole body shook. He felt all numb and unable to move.

W-why? Why did he have to...

Levy's head fell off; dark red liquid flew everywhere. Her body collapsed like a ton of bricks in a pool of her own blood. Jellal had sinister look on his face.

"B-but...Why...All this time you-" Before Lyon could finish his sentence, Jellal pointed to the King.

Alistair was standing now, smiling at Levy's headless body.

"All along I was following the King's orders. He said I need to collect all the people who wanted to rebel against him. I would never disobey him," the bluenette said as if it was no big deal.

"You asshole!" Lyon yelled, his fists glowing blue.

The white-haired teen tried to run up to the traitor but the knights around him pushed him to the ground. Natsu tried to throw some of them off but the remaining knights surrounded him. Gray watched as his father gestured to Erza.

"Well, get the job done."

Jellal looked at the red-head and kept a straight face. He drew his sword and walked behind the woman. He placed the sword over her neck.

"No!" Gray cried out, ripping his way through the crowd.

"Seize him!" King Alastair said, a large grin on his face.

The citizens tried to grab him as he passed. He was only a few inches away from Erza when two large men gripped his shoulders.

"Erza!" Gray shouted, tears running down his cheeks.

The scarlet haired woman didn't say a word. She only smiled sadly at the prince. Jellal had a grim look on his face as he turned his head to the king. Alastair glared back.

"Do it," he muttered.

"Can't we at least spare her, My Highness?"

The crowd erupted in 'boos' and cries of disappointment.

"You will do it," the king muttered once more.

Jellal stared down at Erza reluctantly. Gray hoped that the former knight would come to his senses. Elfman and Mirajane looked at the King, almost as if asking for permission. The king sighed and nodded. The two knights stepped up on the platform.

"You are either going to do it or we will." Mira sneered as she pulled out her sword.

Jellal glared in her direction but before he had a chance to move, Elfman tackled him to the ground. The former knight grunted as his head hit the floor. Mira stepped behind Erza with a wicked smile.

"No! Please! Stop!" Gray screeched as he struggled to escape from the men's grips.

Of course the white-haired knight didn't listen. In one move, Erza's head was clean off. Blood splattered everywhere and her body landed on top of Levy's. Gray felt warm liquid hit his face and run down his shirt.

The crowed cheered. The mission was a complete failure. Lucy waved at them to go but Gray didn't move an inch. Gray knew he should follow the escape plan. They would run into the poor part of the city and hide but he was too paralyzed to move. The rebels swarmed out of the area. Gray wasn't sure how he would escape from the two large men holding him and he really didn't care. He couldn't tear his eyes away from his friend's lifeless body.

"Gray!" A voice yelled.

The raven turned his head and saw Natsu pushing his way through the crowed. He scorched anyone who tried to stop him. The big guys sneered at the pinkette. Gray looked at Natsu without emotion. It was almost as if his face was frozen. He didn't want to speak or move. Natsu punched the men until they let go and grabbed Gray by the wrist. The pink haired teen ended up dragging Gray all the way to their assigned ally.

Gray felt Natsu let go of his arm. The prince leaned against the brick wall and sank to the ground. He stared at the other wall blankly. The raven didn't feel Natsu's nervous stare or hear him call his name. All he saw was the death of his friends. The prince touched his blood stained cheek and quivered.

XXX

Natsu looked at Gray with worry. The prince hadn't moved. He only sat there and kept a blank face. The pinkette heard the distant sound of footsteps.

We have to get out of here, Natsu thought.

He looked over at Gray and grabbed his wrist once again. The raven didn't say a word in protest and he ran down the other end of the ally. They were in the poor part of Fairy Tail. The Rebel base was to the left but a bunch of knights ran toward them from that side.

"Damn!" He cursed as he ran the other way.

The pink haired teen hoped that knights wouldn't follow them for long. He was on the border between the rich and the poor. He was not sure where to go. Suddenly, Natsu remembered Lucy had told him the address of where Gray had stayed. Gray was still behind him, almost lifeless.

Natsu gave a big smile as the house came into view. The pink haired teen heard the knights following them. He knew he had to ditch them somehow. The pink haired teen shoot a couple of fire balls and made a run for it. He saw a branching alleyway and pressed his back again the wall. Gray was right there with him of course. The knights ran past with pissed looks on their faces.

Once the coast was clear Natsu ran up to the door and twisted the knob frantically.

It was locked.

"Gray! Do you have the key?" Natsu whispered hurriedly.

The prince didn't answer.

"Gray?"

There was only the sound of the wind howling. Natsu cursed as he dug through Gray's jean pockets.

"Snap out of it!" The pinkette hissed as he pulled a key out of his back pocket.

He fumbled with the key but unlocked the door. The dragon leader pushed open the door and slammed it shut. He set Gray down on a nearby chair and locked the door back up.

Natsu pulled another chair next to the raven's and sat down with a huff. He panted, glad to have stopped running but his mind was focused on Gray.

"You need to clean up," Natsu said, getting up once more to get a rag.

The pinkette found one on the kitchen counter and walked back to the raven. He crouched down and slowly wiped off the blood. He felt like he was taking care of a child.

"Gray..." He whispered, putting the rag on the ground.

The dragon didn't know what to do. He had never been good at helping people. So Natsu did the first thing that popped into his mind.

The pinkette wrapped his arms around Gray and squeezed.

"It's going to be okay."

The raven pressed his face into Natsu's shoulder. The pinkette felt something wet seep through his vest.

"It's not fair," Gray muttered through sobs.

Natsu only rubbed the prince's back and tried to comfort him.

"I know."

A few minutes later, Gray looked up at the pink haired teen.

"T-thank you, Natsu." The raven sniffled.

The pinkette smiled and began to move away but the prince pulled him back into his chest.

XXX

Natsu opened his eyes slowly. He felt so warm and cozy snuggled up against-

The pinkette scrambled away from Gray's body. He blushed a bit and remembered that they had fallen asleep on the floor...together. He was about to get up and leave before the window near the door opened. The pinkette's eyes widened as a similar face hopped into the room.

"Hey Natsu," Zeref said as he walked closer to the dragon.

"What...what are you doing here?" Natsu asked, wanting to crawl out of his skin. His face was burning red at all the memories that came back.

"I just want to see my love."

Natsu snorted, crossing his arms,"I am not your boyfriend, Zeref."

"Aw don't say that! What about all those times I-"

"You know that could never happen!"

Zeref chuckled and pulled Natsu close to him. The pink haired teen scowled and blushed. Zeref leaned down so close that Natsu could feel his hot breath on his face.

"Who the hell are you?" Gray muttered.

XXX


	9. Recovering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

"Who the hell are you?"

Gray glared over at the man who held Natsu in his arms. The pinkette blushed a bit harder and pushed the black haired man away. The man looked at the prince and crossed his arms.

"I am Zeref, and you?"

"Prince Gray," The raven muttered instantly.

Zeref bowed mockingly and smirked.

"Why are you here?" Gray scowled as he ignored the bow.

"Just wanted to visit my boyfriend-"

Natsu glared daggers at Zeref. Gray couldn't help but feel rage boil up inside his chest. He wanted Zeref far away from the pinkette.

"What do you mean boyfriend?" The raven asked with a scowl. Zeref only frowned and pulled the pinkette close again.

Gray shot up off the floor. He tried to keep himself from pulling Natsu away from the man.

"You were griving over your father and I was there at the right time. Your love wasn't real." Natsu blurted out, squirming away from Zeref. "We should go over to the base and tell them that we are alive."

Gray dropped his fists and nodded, but his eyes burned holes in Zeref's forehead. The fact that Natsu's previous lover showed up left a bitter taste in Gray's mouth. How dare he try to steal Natsu away! But he'd have to deal with that later. He needed to check on Lyon and make sure his brother was all right. The raven hoped that he wouldn't lose anyone else. Hisstomach churned at the thought.

Natsu peeled open the door slowly. Gray gulped, hoping no guards were outside. The pinkette turned back and nodded. Gray followed Natsu quietly out the door. The raven heard Zeref's footsteps behind him.

"Why does he have to come?" He muttered in annoyance.

"Well, he wouldn't take no for an answer." Natsu replied with equal annoyance.

The path to the base looked clear and people free. There was only the sound of cicadas in the distance as the three made their way to the rebel Base.

XXX

Natsu was shocked at how many dull and grieving eyes looked up at him as he walked into the Base. Everyone was sitting in the main room, either on the couches or the floor. Natsu saw people missing, and the ones that remained were covered in bandages. Natsu watched as Gray walked up to Jellal's old room, where Lyon was at. Zeref leaned against the wall with a sigh. Natsu huffed.

Out of all the times to come and see me, why did it have to be now?

Everything was already a mess. The pinkette's feelings were jumbled and things weighed heavily on his mind. Zeref just had to come along and make things worse. Gray didn't seem too happy about it either.

Natsu spotted Wendy, tending to Cana. She was strapping a splint to the woman's ankle. The pinkette stepped over injured people as he made his way over. Wendy looked up at him. Her forehead had a big bandage on it. Her eyes had dark bags hanging under them and her face was slack.

"Hey Wendy," Natsu whispered, trying not to wake up some of the members who had dozed off.

Wendy only turned her head back to Cana. Cana looked at the pink haired leader, face worried.

"She hasn't spoken all morning... I think she may have saw-" The brunette choked on her words.

At first Natsu was angry. He had told her to stay so she wouldn't get hurt! It seemed that no one ever listened to him. Natsu took Wendy's hand and pulled her into the nearby strorage room. He shut the door softly. Wendy looked at him with tears flowing down her cheeks.

Natsu pulled her into a hug and let her cry into his chest.

What felt like hours later, Wendy pulled away, wiping the tears away.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile.

Natsu smiled back and gestured to the door. "Come on, I'll help you bandage up the others.

XXX

Gray walked up to Jellal's room. His heart was heavy as he opened the door. He had heard that his brother got severely injured. He wished that Natsu had protected him instead. Lyon was laying in the bed, his whole upper half was covered in bandages. One was drapped over the bridge of his nose and the rest were wrapped around his chest.

"Hey Gray." Lyon smiled, as he slowly sat up.

The prince could see the white haired man's face scrunch up in pain as he propped himself up.

"Are you okay?" The raven instantly asked, walking up to the bedside.

"I am just fine. There was just a few more guardsthen I could handle."

Gray knew his brother was lying through his teeth. He was clearly in pain.

"I know you are lying Lyon," Gray muttered.

Lyon sighed and nodded. "How could you tell...I am still going over everything that happened."

Gray rested his head on his hand and gave Lyon a look to continue. He wanted to hear his older brother out, hoping it would take a load off the white haired man's shoulders.

"I should have known that Jellal was a traitor. I was with him every hour of the day and I didn't suspect a thing. As for Erza and Levy, I should have been able to save them...It was all my fault."

"Lyon, it's not your-"

"No! I should have done something. I should have been able to help them and keep the guards away!"

"It wasn't your fault. No one would have been able to do that. Even Natsu told me he had trouble with the guards. There were too many. As for Jellal...he put on a great act."

"Still… I feel so useless…" Lyon folded his hands into fists and squeezed them tightly, his face frowning in pain. When he finally relaxed his fists, he looked a little calmer.

"Gray, how are you holding up?" The man suddenly asked.

The raven haired teen was surprised to hear the question. His brother was worried about him, when Lyon had his own problems to deal with. The events that had happened, were burned into his mind. He didn't want Lyon to worry about him so he smiled.

"I'm fine."

Lyon scoffed. "Yeah right! I know when you are lying, Gray."

"I-"

"Did Natsu help you escape last night?"

"Yeah… we stayed in the other house."

The white haired man nodded and smirked. "Did he help you already? Did I miss my chance to comfort you?"

Gray looked at the floor, feeling his cheeks turn from the night before flooded into the prince's mind. He didn't know what had possessed him last night, but he had lost all rational thought…

"Kiss me..." Gray had whispered through a broken voice.

Natsu obeyed silently, moving into the prince. The pinkette pressed his lips to the raven's quivering ones. At first it was awkward but they slowly warmed up to each other.

Gray blushed furiously.

"No! I didn't need comforting from him!"

Of course, the prince had loved the comfort he had gotten the night before. He didn't talk to Natsu about what happened. He was too nervous to. What if the pinkette only made out with him so he would feel better?

"So I heard you became the new leader?" Gray added quickly.

Lyon frowned. "I don't think this rebellion will be going on much longer. After Jellal's betrayal... well, people are giving up hope. Plus I would make a horrible leader."

"Ha. You'd make a great leader. Much better than me, anyways… You were always so brave, standing up to our father when we were children. I really admired you."

Lyon chuckled, then grimaced.

"Don't make me laugh it hurts!"

Gray spent half of the day talking to his brother, catching up. His brother was the same as he was back at the castle. He was the exact same person that Gray always looked up to.

The raven helped Lyon down to the main floor. No matter how much he insisted that the man should rest, Lyon would not hear of it. All eyes wereon the two of them as the prince helped Lyon into the nearby couch. Gray hadn't noticed how depressed everyone looked. He spotted Lucy trying to cheer up a group of the rebels but it wasn't doing much good. She was telling them that no matter what they could still take back the kingdom. One of them mentioned that she would have no idea how they felt since she was already a princess of her own city. Gray felt bad for the Blonde. She was trying her best but was clearly losing hope herself.

Gray looked over to see Nastu and Wendy kneeling around a body. The raven couldn't make out who it was but the person was certainly not moving. A woman with green hair and a yellow hat was crying near the man's body. Wendy looked up to her and sadly shook her head. Gray had a feeling the man wouldn't be getting back up. The prince felt his stomach churn as Natsu helped lift the man off the floor and carry him to the door in the back of the room. The raven stalked over to Wendy who was comforting the woman.

"What happened?" He questioned as he neared the two.

The bluenette frowned at him and smiled at the woman.

"I will be right back Bisca, please go get something to eat in the kitchen."

Wendy dragged Gray over to the other end of the room.

"Her husband, Alzack, didn't make it. He got a bad stab wound close to his heart."

Gray frowned."He was a good man…"

Wendy nodded slowly. "Last night a lot of people left the rebellion and others...well..."

The prince didn't have to hear the last of the sentence. He knew that there would be at least some casualties. He just wished it wasn't as much. Gray suddenly felt a hand grip his shoulder. He spun around to face Lucy. She had a long look on her face but still managed a smile. Before the blonde could open her mouth, the door came flying in with a loud crush.

The people sitting in on the floor scrambled out of the way before they got hit. Someone screamed.

Jellal strolled into the room

He was holding a sword to Loke's neck. Gray felt his body tense as Lyon scrambled to get off of the couch.

"Let Loke go!" Lyon said through gritted teeth. The older prince's face radiated hate as he stared at his old mentor. "Aren't you happy to see me? After all, you wouldn't have pulled through without me…" Jellal smirked. Gray had to restrain his injured brother from lunging at Jellal. "What the hell are you doing here?" Gray asked.

"Just thought I would pay you all a visit." Jellal smirked.

XXX


	10. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Gray wasn't sure who threw the first blow but everything turned crazy. A knight knocked him to the ground, holding Gray's hands behind his head. The raven struggled against the other man's grip. The raven spat in the guard's face, making him let go of Gray. Gray took the chance to strike the man in the stomach and stood up.

He looked over to see Lyon, trying to avoid the point of Jellal's sword. The prince instantly tried to get to his brother but another knight held him back.

Jellal kicked Lyon in the gut and picked him up with a smirk.

"Lyon!" Gray shouted in anguish.

He had to save his brother. He couldn't have another person tore out of his life, he wouldn't allow it. Tears threatened to fall as the raven pushed against the knight's hold.

I have to save him! I have to...

"Gray!" Natsu shouted as he ran over to the prince.

The raven turned his head to see the pinkette running at full speed, fists ablaze. He made short work of the knight that was restraining the raven.

"Lets go!" The pinkette shouted.

"I can't! I need to go after Lyon!"

"Gray, we have to get out of here!"

"I can't lose him again!" The prince snapped.

The pinkette gave him a sympathetic look.

Zeref ran up behind Natsu.

"What the hell are you still doing here!" He shouted.

It was a bit to late for them to make a run for it. A group of guards had blocked the exit and started to advance toward them. Gray saw Natsu's fists light up but Zeref lowered the pinkette's hands.

"I got this. You two get to the exit." The black-haired man said. The area around him seemed to grow darker. The knights dropped to the ground, grabbing their necks as if suffocating themselves.

Natsu grabbed Gray's wrist and pulled him to the other exit. The door was already wide open. There was a dark path that stretched before them. Before Gray had a chance to say a word in protest, he was dragged forcefully all the way to the end. The raven could hear the clashing of metal and shouts. A woman screeched but it ended just as abruptly as it started. There was a rickety old ladder that led upwards. Natsu guested for the raven to climb.

"No, you go I have to find Lyon." The raven muttered, turning around.

Natsu was instantly in front of him.

"You are not going anywhere."

Gray sighed and hesitantly began to climb the ladder.

He couldn't have lost his brother again! They had just reunited, damn it! Tears threatened to flow down his cheeks. Lyon would never go down like that if he wasn't injured. It wasn't fair! Gray's leg slipped. He yelled in surprise, and felt Natsu grab him around his middle. The prince's face instently lit up.

"Come on!" Natsu hissed, snapping Gray out of his thoughts.

"But-"

"Don't make me drag you out." The pinkette sighed. "I know Lyon would want you to get out safely."

The prince continued to climb. They were near the border of the rich part of the city. Natsu looked around, making sure no guards or citizens were around. They were completely recognizable without their hoods on.

Natsu swore, "Where the hell..."

Gray didn't care. His thoughts were with Lyon, who was probably dead by now. He didn't feel like moving.

"There is no point. It's over." The prince muttered.

"Don't say that! There is still hope. Lyon would kick your ass for giving up on him if he was here. Maybe someone will hide us..."

Gray realised Natsu was right. He shouldn't give up...

Gray turned around to follow Natsu-

"Prince Gray!" A voice called.

The raven jumped in alarm but forced himself to relax. He knew that the voice belonged to Juvia. He felt a hand land on his shoulder.

The prince had no choice but to turn around.

"Prince Gray! Are you in trouble? Juvia saw what happened last night." The blue haired teen said, clasping her hands together.

The door behind them suddenly blew off its hinges with a loud bang. "He's up there!" A knight yelled. Another knight raised his arm and a fireball shot towards them. The raven closed his eyes. There was nowhere to go. That's it, he thought. The end.

He expected he'd be in pain any moment, but instead he heard a strange sizzling sound. He opened one eye... Juvia stood with one hand outstretched, a large body of water hovering mid-air in front of her.

"She's a mage! Shoot her. Don't injure the prince too badly. The king wants him alive."

Natsu was suddenly next to the prince.

"Come with Juvia."

XXX

Thanks to Juvia, they were able to escape the guards. Gray didn't even notice that they had made it to a building.

It was built nicely, with bushes planted around the house. In front of it was behind a large office building, hiding it from the dirt path. Juvia opened the door to the house and let them in. The only thing in the main room was a couch.

"Juvia comes here often. Her parents gave her this house as a present." She said cheerfully.

Gray heard Natsu scoff. The prince sadly found it pretty normal. Rich parents always went all out with gifts for their children. Juvia opened the front door once more.

"Juvia will be right back." She smiled as turned around.

Gray grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Why did you help us?" He asked curiously.

Juvia turned around and gave Gray a small smile.

"I love Prince Gray!"

She gave him a soft look. The raven could feel the longing radiate off the teen. Gray was overwhelmed and surprised. He couldn't belive there was someone who didn't hate him. Who stuck her neck out for him and who loved him.

"Thank you Juvia." He said with a smile.

The blue haired teen grinned at him and waved in goodbye as she walked out the door, shutting it softly behind her.

XXX

Natsu flopped on the couch. He felt awkward being alone with Gray. They hadn't talked about what had happened last night and he wasn't sure if they would. The pinkette had to count how many times they have kissed. Each time they did it seemed as if time stopped. Natsu felt his face burn.

" I wonder where Juvia went." Gray said suddenly, taking a seat next to Natsu.

Natsu didn't reply, he just stared at the raven. He had memorized every part of Gray's face. From where his hair touched his cheek to the curve of his chin. The raven's smell filled the dragon leader's nose. It was such a familiar smell. Natsu didn't notice how close he was to the prince. Gray gave him a curious look.

"Hey Natsu...about what happened last night I-"

Natsu felt like he had lost control of his body. He leaned forward and cut the prince off with a kiss. Gray pushed Natsu away.

"W-what was that for?" He stuttered, a slight blush on his cheeks.

The pinkette pulled Gray in for a hug, burning his face in the prince's chest.

"I love you." Natsu blurted out. He instantly wanted to take it back.

The raven pushed the teen off once more and shot off the couch. The pinkette's heart shattered. He felt his throat close up and his body shake.

What have I done? He thought with panic.

He didn't want to lose Gray. He couldn't. The pink haired teen had gotten so attached to the prince. They had been through so much and still had so many more hardships in front of them.

All Natsu could hear was Gray's ragged breathing. Every moment hurt the pinkette more and more. He had to get out of the house. He wouldn't be able to hear Gray's rejection.

"That's crazy."

Natsu's face slacked. He knew it was. There was no way the Prince would return the feelings. All of their romantic accounters had all been fake. The first time was an accident, the second Gray had to give him back his powers, and the third the raven just needed comforting. Natsu knew it was crazy.

The prince walked up in front of Natsu and kissed him.

Natsu looked at Gray bewildered. Did the prince really love him back or maybe it was just the pinkette's imagination.

"I love you too, Natsu."

XXX

Soon it became clear where Juvia went. She came and went multiple times, each time bringing an injured rebel with her. Zeref was the last to arrive before Juvia returned empty-handed. Gray caught her gaze and she sadly shook her head.

No Lyon.

Juvia could only find 10 people. Gray was sitting with Lucy. He looked over at Natsu who was helping Wendy bandage her scraped up knee. Zeref was in the corner, observing everyone. Cana was in the kitchen with Lisanna and Bisca. Gray was so worried. Lyon wasn't among the ten. Juvia had went out one more time to look for him. The raven prayed for his brother's safety.

"I had a group of five others with me..." Lucy said sadly, "They all surrendered to the guards, telling me it was not worth staying in the rebel group any longer."

"We have to keep everyone that is left together.." Gray added.

He had noticed everyone had a worried or sad look on their faces. The prince didn't blame them. A part of him wanted to leave and forget about everything. A part of him wished he was still at home with Erza, living his life by the King's rules.

That isn't a life worth living. The raven thought.

What was the point of living if you didn't have any freedom to make your own desions. That must have been what all the people in the rebel group were thinking when they joined. Now everyone was in pieces, losing sight of their goal.

"This is crazy!" Loke suddenly shouted, getting off the floor. "I can't do this anymore! I don't want to die!"

"Yeah!" Someone else shrieked.

The whole room was in an uproar. People were trudging to the door. They all hung their heads, everyone was tired of fighting and lose. They all just wanted release.

"Don't give up!" Lucy yelled, blocking the door.

"What is the point? He killed everyone else. Better quit while we're still alive." Loke muttered.

"We still have a chance. We can still beat him!" The blonde protested.

"Why do you want him over thrown anyway? You have your own damn kingdom." Someone growled.

With that the group tried to get past the princess. Gray was at her side. He made a gesture, trying to think of words to say to the bitter group in front of him.

People's eyes turned hateful as they focused on him.

"Jellal know's what you all look like. He won't stop till he captures you." Gray said, hoping to convince them to stay.

Loke's eyes darted to Gray.

"Why should we trust you? You are the son of King Alister. What if you are just like him or Jellal? I say we tie him up before he betrays us like the others!"

"Yeah!" The other's echoed

The prince gulped as the group glared at him.

"Gray is nothing like the king!" Princess Lucy cried, trying to push back the crowd.

"Listen up!" Natsu shouted from the back of the room.

All eyes were on the pinkette. Gray could see his green eyes sparkle with determination.

The pinkette was standing on top of the couch that was in the back of the room. The dragon had gotten everyone in the room's attention.

The pinkette cleared his throat, looking at Gray. The prince gave him a curious look. The raven didn't know what Natsu could possibly say to convince everyone not to leave. Gray's heart sank. If they all left then there was no way they would be able to over throw his father and save Lyon.

"Do you all remember what we are fighting for?" Natsu asked simply.

"To over throw King Alister!" Someone shouted.

"Right but more importantly we are fighting for freedom! You will all be free to do as you please and not worry about stepping the wrong way."

Gray saw a couple of people in the group nod their heads in agreement. Natsu smirked.

"If you all leave now...there will be no hope for anyone in the future. Who knows what the King will do next? Who knows who will have to lose their lives to that corrupt ruler. We need to fight!" Natsu shouted, raising his fist in the air.

The group let out a low shout. Still some didn't look convinced. Gray felt a bit of hope flutter in his chest.

"We need to show Jellal that we can do this without him! We can over throw King Alister!" The pink haired teen yelled again.

Gray saw everyone's broken expressions slowly being replaced with determination. The whole room was in a loud roar, fists filled the air. Gray grinned at the pink haired teen.

We still have a chance! He thought

Lucy and the prince had moved away from the door. They were making their way to the dragon leader. Everyone was still yelling and talking to one another

"What should we do now?" Loke questioned.

Natsu scratched the back of his head and let out a small laugh.

"Tomorrow, we free Fairy Tail." He said.

The whole room cheered, everything seemed a bit brighter.

XXX


	11. Bleeding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Natsu spent the rest of the night making a plan. They would sneak into the castle. Back when the pinkette was back at the castle, he noticed that the palace was always well guarded. The pinkette knew it would be easier to go under the cover of the night. So Natsu and Loke came up with groups. They would all search for the King and Lyon, while taking out any one in their way.

Natsu felt the moral in the house rise. Everyone joined together in the living room to eat. The group was more talkative than that morning. Natsu took a seat next to Gray. The prince looked worried and hadn't touched his plate off food. The pink haired leader frowned and slipped his hand into the prince's. Gray looked at the pinkette with a bit of surprise and then gave a small smile.

"Do you think the plan will work?" The raven asked quietly, picking up his fork with his empty hand.

Natsu nodded with confidence. He knew it would work or rather it had to work. The pinkette spotted Juiva and Wendy, making their way over to them. Juvia took a seat on the other side of Gray while Wendy on the other side of Natsu.

Gray began to chat with the rain woman while Natsu turned his attention to Wendy.

"How are you holding up?" Natsu asked her, shoveling mash potatoes in his mouth.

"Okay. Everyone has been treated." She smiled, leaning against the wall.

"You going to eat?"

The sky dragon only shook her head and looked blankly up at the ceiling.

"I miss everyone back at the tribe..."

"I do too, Wendy. Once we are finished here, we will go home."

Natsu felt Gray's grip on his hand tighten once the sentence escaped his lips. The pinkette's heart twisted. He wanted to go back home but didn't want to leave Gray behind.

"I wonder how Gajeel is handling his new position." Wendy smirked, not noticing the tension between the men.

Natsu let out a little laugh. Gajeel was the "co-leader." The steel dragon slayer would be the temporary leader of the tribe if Natsu was gone. Of course he never liked being in second place, especially to Natsu.

"I am sure he is fine." The pinkette reassured firmly. He had confidence in his friend's leadership skills.

XXX

The tribe was unusually quiet. Everyone stood in a circle with heads bowed. Tears flowed down most of the members' faces. Gajeel had gotten word from another tribe that the King had held an execution. Both of the victims had been part of the castle. Their crime was defying King Alistair's orders. The other tribe had sent a spy to watch the whole thing and he had said that Natsu was one of the victims. Though he didn't see the platform, he heard the teen's shouts and cries.

So the Dragon Tribe was holding a funeral for their leader. A marker was placed next to the pinkette's father's. The sun was setting as Gajeel started to say some words.

"Natsu was a great leader, a compassionate friend, and a fearless fighter. He died trying to get back to us. We will always remember him and keep him in our hearts."

A sob rippled through a young woman and two others tried to comfort her.

"I know Natsu wouldn't want us to be upset. He would want us to continue to thrive and move on."

The members simultaneously nodded and wiped away their tears. Most of them had known the deceased leader for a very long time, some even knew him when he was just a child. It was hard for them to let go and move on but it was what Natsu would have wanted. They all stood there in front of the pink haired teen's grave. Grief wrapped around them like a blanket.

XXX

Gray was looking up at the ceiling. He had tried to fall asleep but his thoughts kept him awake and the floor wasn't very comfortable. The raven kept replaying what Natsu had told Wendy over and over. He didn't want the pinkette to leave him! It hurt him to think about not having the tribe leader around anymore.

Am I being selfish?

Gray could hear the snores coming from said teen. He was so loud that the raven was sure no one was able to sleep. One other thought was the well-being of Lyon. He hoped that the former knight wasn't being tortured. What did King Alistair have in store for Gray's older brother? The raven's heart sank. He couldn't lose Lyon and Natsu. Then he would have no one left.

"I love Prince Gray!"

Juvia's confession rang in his head. He would have her right? He had Lucy too. Gray suddenly sighed. He guessed the wedding was off. The raven wondered what the blonde thought about getting married to him. Was she sad that they never would or did she not think of Gray that way? The raven decided to talk to her while they got ready for the battle tomorrow.

Gray wondered if he would be the one to kill his father.

Can I really kill him? He asked silently.

Would the teen really have the will or strength? He didn't even have Ice Make magic and wasn't so good with a sword. He would be useless when it came time to over throw King Alistair. There was something else that the raven thought would hold him back. Though the man was cruel and vile, he was still Gray's father. His flesh and blood.

Unlike the King, Gray had a heart. He couldn't imagine having blood on his hands. To kill another human being made the prince's stomach turn. The raven couldn't think about it, let alone do it.

It has to be done. Gray decided.

He would have to kill the King. His terror had to be put to an end. Then Lyon or himself would claim the throne and change Fairy Tail for the better. Gray needed some fresh air. He couldn't lay there any longer and dwell on his thoughts. So the prince got up, slipped on a cloak that hung near on the wall and slipped through the door.

XXX

It was cool and dry outside. No wind blew through the sky and the streets seemed empty. Gray gazed up at the castle top that peered above other buildings. He wondered how everyone was doing. He missed the familiar faces.

The raven felt a hand grip his shoulder. His body tensed, ready to make a run for it.

"It's just me," Natsu whispered and Gray's body slumped.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Shh! We don't want people to know we are here, do we?" The pinkette smirked.

"Come on, I know somewhere peaceful we can talk." The prince murmured as he trekked ahead.

The two made their way past all the buildings and came to a stream. It was on the edge where Fairy Tail's land ended. Gray liked to go there sometimes to get away from his father. It was nice to sit there and listen to the rushing water.

The two teens laid on the hard ground and stared at the sand that stretched beyond the small river.

Gray let out a gasp as Natsu snuggled into his chest. His body was warm against the raven's. Gray slowly put his arm around the pinkette and smiled to himself. Natsu was the only thing holding him to reality at the very moment. If it wasn't for the dragon leader, the prince didn't know where he would be mentally.

"Natsu..."

"Hmm?"

"P-promise to never leave me."

Snores only reached Gray's ears. The raven chuckled as he gazed at the sleeping teen in his arms. Natsu looked so beautiful. The moon light illuminated his face and he seemed so peaceful.

Suddenly, Gray felt a hand grab a handful of his hair and drag him out of Natsu's grip. Gray let out a screech in pain as he was lifted off the ground.

"Eh~" Natsu muttered, rubbing his eyes while slowly sitting up.

"Get away from Natsu." A voice hissed in Gray's ear.

"Zeref! You idiot! Let him go!" Natsu whispered, running toward the pair.

Gray felt a fist connect with his side and he was roughly dropped on the ground. The prince shot off the ground with a groan. Zeref was making his way toward Natsu. Gray wouldn't let him get any closer. He ran toward the man and tackled him to the ground. Zeref let out a grunt in surprise as his stomach hit the ground. A black aura radiated off the black-haired male. Gray felt his throat close up and he couldn't breathe. He let go of the man and grabbed at his throat.

Zeref suddenly pushed Gray to the ground, raising his fist in the air. Gray's lungs felt like they were burning or about to burst.

"No! Stop!" Natsu shouted, pulling his ex-lover off the struggling raven.

The aura around Zeref disappeared and Gray gasped as air filled his lungs.

"You asshole!" Natsu exclaimed, glaring at Zeref.

Gray sat up, greeted by dizziness.

"Guys...shut up," The raven muttered in a rough voice. "We might have already attracted attention."

The pinkette didn't listen. He yelled at Zeref and even punched him. The black-haired male had the same straight face.

"Why did you do that?" The teen finally asked, panting.

Zeref glared back at Gray.

"You are mine. Not his," he stated, looking back to the pinkette.

"I don't belong to anyone!" Natsu growled.

Gray felt rage run through him. How dare Zeref say that Natsu was his alone!

"Natsu is mine," the prince growled as he stood up.

Said teen glared at Gray with piercing eyes.

"I am not your slave, Gray. You guys are acting like I'm some item you two own," the pinkette muttered, his expression sank.

"I didn't mean-" Gray stuttered.

"Shut up." Natsu sneered as he stalked past to two stunned males.

"Natsu!" Zeref called, running after the pissed leader.

Gray stared at the two blankly. He really screwed up.

XXX

The next morning, everyone was getting ready for the operation. Natsu was hiding in one of the spare rooms. He had locked himself in there and sat in the corner. Only his thoughts kept him company. Wendy, Lucy, and even Juvia had tried to get him to come out but the leader wouldn't budge.

Natsu was angry, sad, and confused all at the same time.

He hated how Gray and Zeref acted the night before. It hurt the pinkette that Gray still thought that he owned him. Now the pink haired teen didn't know who he loved anymore.

Natsu had been positive that it had been the prince but then Zeref had come back into the picture. The teen remembered how much he loved the man back then but as he got older he realised it was all out of pity.

What will I do when the war is over? The pinkette asked himself over and over.

Would he stay with Gray, Zeref, or Wendy? It gave Natsu a pounding headache just to try to choose one person. He didn't want to upset any of them but he wanted to be happy. Zeref was very possessive and protective. Gray was stubborn and very obnoxious but loving. While Wendy was caring and sweet. It would be a good choice to choose Wendy, right? She was the nicest girl and if he went with her and the teen would see his family again. Although he was in love with Gray and possibly Zeref.

Natsu let out a groan as someone knocked on the door, racking his train of thought.

"Can I come in?" Gray asked from outside the wooden door.

"Go away!"

"Natsu, please let me talk to you."

"No."

"God, you are so stubborn."

"Me? Stubborn?" Natsu laughed, gazing at the door.

Gray sighed. "Open the door or I will kick it in."

"Like you have the strength."

Sure enough the door flung open but not by Gray's foot. No, Juvia was standing in the doorway with a smile and keys in her hands

"Juvia found her keys!" The bluenette cheered.

"Thank you, Juvia." Gray smiled as he walked in and shut the door.

Natsu turned his back to the raven.

"I said go away." Natsu grumbled, pulling his knees into his chest.

The pinkette didn't want to talk to the prince. Everything was complicated enough. Gray hugged the teen from behind.

"I am so sorry," he whispered.

"I don't want to talk."

"Well you are talking now right?"

Natsu huffed. "Shut it."

"I just...I can't think of Zeref taking you away from me. Natsu, I love you. I didn't mean to upset you. My mind was fogged up with worry and anger," Gray explained, still in a hushed voice.

Natsu felt the prince bury his face in the pinkette's neck. It sent a shiver through his body. The room fell silent. The pink haired teen wriggled out of Gray's lose grip and turned to face him. Natsu took a deep breath and kissed the unsuspecting prince. The two melted into one another instantly. It felt blissful and Natsu felt his heart hammer in his chest.

There was only one thought in the back of his mind that bothered the teen.

Is Gray really the right choice?

XXX

After breakfast, Juvia ran into a storage place and pulled out a big huffed and smiled at the rest of the group.

"Juvia's father collect's swords and knifes. At the main house he ran out of room so he stored some here."

The whole room lit up in excited grins. Everyone lined up to pull out a weapon out of the trunk. Natsu had declined, claiming his fire would do just fine. Gray was worried about the pinkette. He couldn't lose him. Not then and not ever.

The raven was the last one to get a weapon. He pulled out a nice sword. It reminded him of Erza's old one that she had loved so much. Before the prince turned around to go join Natsu and Lucy, Juvia tapped him on the shoulder.

"Here Gray~" She smiled, handing him a short, shiny dagger.

"What is this for?"

The teen squeezed Gray's hands while he's holding the dagger, a knowing, mysterious look on her face.

XXX

The moon slowly crept into the dark sky. The stars quickly following its lead. The rebels were getting ready. Some of them were still hurt but refused to hold off the attack for another day. So everyone had grabbed their hoods and weapons. Natsu was standing next to Gray with a look of confidence. The pinkette couldn't help but feel like everything would work out just fine.

He was on the same team as Gray along with Zeref and a few others. Their team would look for the King while the second team would find Lyon. Natsu hoped for Gray's sake that the man was alive and well.

"Let's go!" The pink haired teen shouted and everyone cheered.

They marched out the door, slinking their way past buildings. Careful of any people or light that would blow their cover. The castle loomed over them as they inched their way over. No one ever seemed to be outside at night but they did come across a young couple kissing in the alleyway. Natsu was thankful that they were to occupied to notice them pass. Once the castle gate and the two guards came into view, Gray walked ahead of the group, dropping his hood.

The two knights stared at the raven in shock, one raised her sword. Natsu held his breath as Gray held his hands in the air signing surrender. The other knight said something to the the raven and walked inside. The leftover guard let her sword drop a little.

Natsu stared at his lover's hands, waiting for the signal. There is was, Gray made an "L" shape with his thumb and index finger.

The group charged, alarming the knight. Before she could lift a finger, Gray pulled out his sword from underneath his cover. He slashed at her, hitting the visible flesh of her fore arm. Natsu was at the raven's side in an instant. His fists set ablaze. The guard hissed, one hand gripping her injured arm.

There was a sudden shout and the slam of the front door. Five knights streamed outside, charging at the rebels. Natsu held his hands to his mouth and blew out fire, knocking three of the enemies off their feet. The other two had lunged out of the range of the blazing fire. The pinkette didn't see who they started to fight with but he heard the clang of metal against metal. Without missing another beat, He grabbed Gray's arm and ran into the unguarded castle. The rest of the group followed, leaving alone the two who were fighting off the leftover knights

They entered the parlor. Natsu looked around wildly. It seemed that the parlor was quiet beside the ticking of the clock that hung on the wall. The pink haired teen turned around to face the group.

"Alright, you all know what you have to do. When you're done, we will meet back at the base." Natsu whispered but loud enough for them to hear. Everyone nodded and separated into groups.

"They are over there!" Someone shouted and Natsu cringed at how familiar it sounded.

Jellal sprinted into the parlor, a group of 15 or 20 others close behind him.

"I thought something was wrong when Angel said Prince Gray was at the door." The blue haired man smirked.

"Where the hell is Lyon?" Gray hissed instantly, lifting up his sword.

Natsu stood on guard. Jellal and the other knights could attack at any moment.

"He is fine...The King just had a few questions to ask," Jellal muttered. Without any further hesitation, he charged.

Natsu cursed as he tackled the prince to the ground. The pinkette was going to help but had his hands suddenly full. A knight bravely tried to hit him with his sharp sword. He seemed to be shaking and his eyes were wide with adrenaline. The teen's fists lit up and the knocked the sword out of the man's hands. The man squealed as he tried to avoid Natsu's fist. The dragon hit him hard in the chest. The knight staggered backwards a couple of steps before he collapsed.

Natsu turned to see Zeref fighting Jellal instead of Gray. The pinkette looked around for the raven but couldn't pick him out of the swarm of bodies. He watched as Jellal clawed at his own throat and sank to his knees. The pink haired leader ran over to Zeref who had the strangest grin on his face.

"Zeref! Where is Gray?" Natsu called.

The dark-haired man looked his way and pointed to the hall the broke off from the parlor. Natsu gulped. He knew that down that hallway was the King's throne room. He had to get to Gray and fast. The raven couldn't fight King Alistair without him!

"Natsu!" Juvia cried running toward him. "Let Juvia come with you!"

XXX

Gray crept down the hallway. He was thankful to Zeref for the first time. If it wasn't for him he would have been sliced to pieces. The prince had tried to remember all the sword training his dad made him go through but even with that training he wasn't on the level that Jellal was.

Gray saw the large double doors come into view. He wasn't surprised to see that the doorway was unguarded. The prince was sure that the knights were in the parlor fighting. Gray heard footsteps on the floor. He spun around to see Natsu and Juvia running his way.

"Gray!" Natsu hissed as he made it close. "You idiot! Wait for me."

'I can handle it myself, Flamebrain."

The pinkette scoffed and Gray smirked. Natsu didn't know how much the raven loved him. Juvia didn't say a word as they opened the doors.

Gray stared at the empty throne room. Did his father know that they were going to attack and fled for safety?

"This is such a pai-" Before finishing the sentence, Natsu screeched.

Gray spun around, heart racing. Juvia was holding a dagger; blood dripped down the blade. At her feet was the pinkette.

XXX


	12. Equals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Gray stared at the empty throne room. Did his father know that they were going to attack and fled for safety?

"This is such a pai-" Before finishing the sentence Natsu screeched.

Gray spun around, heart racing. Juvia was holding a dagger, blood dripped down the blade. The pinkette lay bleeding at her feet.

Gray didn't know what to say. He just stared in shock, his mouth gaping. Juvia gave him a devilish smirk and began to walk toward him. The prince backed up a bit, not sure how to formulate words anymore. The raven held his sword up, his hands shaking. His eyes darting to Natsu who wasn't moving. Blood stained the back of his vest and his breathing seemed ragged.

"H-how could you..." Gray muttered, wishing to sound louder.

Juvia only chuckled, shadows danced across her pale face and her hand gripped the bloody dagger. Slowly, darkness swarmed the blue haired teen till she was completely out of Gray's sight.

"This has to be a nightmare.." The raven chocked out.

The darkness seemed to shatter and black dust fell to the red carpet. Gray only blinked, speechless.  
Standing in Juvia's place was King Alistair. The man had the cruelest smile on his face and his fingers laced a certain dagger's metal handle.

Gray couldn't process what he was seeing. How did Juvia turn into his dad? Wait, was it the other way around? If so where is the real Juvia? When did King Alistair or Juvia gain the power of shape shifting? Questions danced inside the prince's mind, giving him a massive headache.

Suddenly, Natsu let out a yelp and Gray looked up to see the King holding up Natsu by his pink locks. Gray was surprised the dragon slayer was even conscious.

"Let...Go." Natsu hissed weakly, blood dripped down his chin.

King Alistair only glared at Gray, bringing up the knife to a certain fire dragon's neck. Natsu wiggled around, trying to peel off the hand that was lifting him off the ground.

"You should have just stayed here in the castle. Like a good little Prince." Gray's father growled. "Why did you have to go and cause yourself trouble?"

"Your methods of ruling are wrong and cruel!" Gray yelled. Well, that's what he hoped he shouted in defiance. But the only thing that come out of mouth was a bunch of muddled words. All he was thinking about was his lover's safety.

"Let him go." The raven finally managed to say. Natsu glared at Gray with warning. His green eyes screamed for him not to do anything rash.

"Fine." The king put simply but before letting go of the bunched of pink hair he was gripping onto, a dagger found it's way into Natsu's chest.

Gray's heart sunk as his dad threw the pinkette roughly on the ground, blood sputtered everywhere.

"Natsu!" Gray shouted with anguish, about to run to his lover's side.

His father tried to block his path from the slowly dying pinkette but Gray wasn't letting him get in the way. The raven pulled out his sword and pointed at the king. The king's dagger was no match for Gray's silver blade. The King snorted.

"You don't have the guts to kill me Gray and you know it. You are a weakling."

Gray gritted his teeth. Did he really have the strength? The prince glanced at Natsu and narrowed his eyes. He would do anything for the dragon leader. Anything in the world.

With that final thought, Gray thrusted his sword into his father's arm. The king responded with his dagger, lightning fast. The dagger clanged hard against the blade. Gray cried out from the unexpected force. The blow sent the sword flying out of Gray's hand.

"Is that the best you got?" The raven haired man breathed as he toyed with his dagger.

Gray felt his stomach twist. All he had to defend himself with was the short dagger Juvia had given him. The raven pulled it out of its pouch. A shiver rushed up his spine, the throne room drastically dropped in temperature. Gray could see his breath come out in white puffs. The king absently shivered as he chuckled.

"You think you can defend against me with that stupid dagger?" He taunted.

Gray gulped; the dagger wouldn't do anything unless he got in close. Even then it would only leave a small wound on the king. The prince kept having doubts and they wouldn't leave him alone.  
"You couldn't even keep a hold of your sword! That's so pathetic!"  
Gray looked at his fallen sword that was a few feet away from the pair. The raven knew that he couldn't turn his back on Alistair or he risked the chance of being defeated. The former prince's mouth opened and closed but no words came out.

"You should have stayed at the castle and worked to become king. You just had to rebel didn't you?" The King sneered as he got closer to Gray, his own dagger pointing in his son's direction.

Gray himself was conflicted. Would it have been better if he just continued to fake a smile and be a good Prince? No, if he stayed, he wouldn't have met his brother again. But... Gray bit his lip. *If I did, would Erza and Levy still be alive?*

Alistair let out a low chuckle. "Having second thoughts?" He circled the raven-haired teen. Gray turned with the movement, not letting Alistair near his back. The dagger shook in Gray's hand. "Have you finally realized this whole rebellion is a waste of everyone's time? My knights are crushing the rebels as we speak. You don't want them dead, do you?"

Gray didn't trust himself to speak.

"It's all your fault, Gray. You led them to their deaths."

'Stop talking!' Gray's mind screamed, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. It...it really was his fault. He wanted to save Lyon so bad, he was willing to risk everyone...

"If you have been a good prince, Erza and Levy would be still here. They died because of you."

Gray's throat closed up. There wasn't a day that he didn't think of Erza and Levy, and how they gave up their lives to protect him. Was everyone around him destined to die? Gray felt light-headed. His knees shook. If so, He he didn't want to live anymore...

"Everything's your fault. If you just followed my rules then your boyfriend wouldn't be dying now, would he?" The older raven paused and then added with a sneer, "Not that his life was worth anything anyway… He was just a slave."

Gray glared at the man once that sentence fell out of his mouth. A surge of strength flooded inside the raven. "How dare you!" Suddenly, Alistar was trapped in place by a mound of ice that covered from his waist to his feet. "Natsu's life is worth more than anything you ever had!" The king gasped in surprise as he looked at the ice and then to Gray.

"How...you..." He stuttered with wide eyes.

Gray looked at his hands with shock as well then he grinned madly.

"That's impossible!" The king cried in outrage as he tried to break out of his new confinements.

Gray retrieved his fallen sword, still holding the dagger in the other hand.

Alastair stopped struggling as Gray approached. Gray's never seen the look of fear in his father's eyes before.

The raven knew he had to make the finally blow now, before he could hurt anyone else. He raised his blade above the king's head.

Tense silence filled the air. Sweat ran down Gray's neck. Both men's breaths formed clouds of mist in the chilly air.

Gray dropped his arm to his side, the tip of the long sword scrapped at the floor. 'I can't do it… I can't kill my own father.' The raven thought.

His father snorted with a little grin. Gray narrowed his eyes. Anger and despair swirled in the prince's heart.

He had to kill him. If he didn't stop him now, then the rebellion would have been for nothing. He didn't want Erza's, Levy's and the rebels' deaths to be in vein.

Darkness wrapped around the trapped raven and shattered, reviling Natsu.

"G..Gray?" The 'pinkette' called out with fake fear.

At the mention of his name the teen snapped out of his thoughts. He crossed his arms, obviously not buying that it was really his lover in the ice.

The king's lips turned up in a cruel smile. "You know...I bet your little slave is going to leave you once this is all over. Why would he stay with his captor when he is free to go home?"

Gray bit his lip when the King stated his greatest fear. Would the dragon slayer leave him for his tribe? For Zeref?

"If you let me out, you could keep Natsu here. You could have him for as long as you want. You could live happily ever after, Gray."

The former prince glared at his father. "Then Natsu would suffer. I would rather give him his freedom. I want him to choose where he wants to go after this night is over."

Alister let out a hardy laugh, "How idiotic! Why let him choose when you can make him stay? Don't you love him? You want the best for him right?"

"Yes." Gray said with a slow nod.

"Are you really letting him go when he's so hurt? What happens if there is another battle? If you let go of me now, I can bring him to the best doctor of Fairy Tail."

The raven frowned and growled," Then everyone would still be still enslaved! The people want freedom and damn it I want them to have it!"

"You are so naive." King went back to his original form. "Go on then. Kill me. Watch your love bleed out in front of you."

Before Gray could reply, the doors were blown apart and two figured ran into the throne room. The raven's face lit up at the sight of his brother and Wendy.

"Thank god you are alive!" Gray cried out in happiness.

Wendy's eyes widened when she spotted Natsu, who was still sprawled out on the carpet. She ran to the pinkette and tried to stitch his wounds. Lyon hobbled over to Gray and faced their father, face grim. The older prince looked horrible with cuts and bruises everywhere.

King Alistair rolled his eyes. "Now both of my greatest failures are here."

"Shut up!" Lyon growled.

"Is this the way to speak to your father? Seems I have to re-educate you." Alistair smirked. He tensed his body and the ice shattered around him. "No one orders me what to do."

Lyon glared at his father, getting in his ice make position. Gray followed his lead, placing his fist on his palm with a small smile. A surge of excitement ran through him. Finally he could fight alongside his bother. With magic, as equals.

XXX


	13. End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a re-upload from my fanfiction account!
> 
> Written Nov. 17 2013 - Mar. 3 2015
> 
> My Friend Running Lynx helped me with the idea and with editing <3

Screams of anger and pain filled up the parlor. The air was hot and heavy whist the swords of metal hitting metal mingled with the screams. The battle was ragging on with no clear winner. Throughout the whole fight, some royal knights had taken the rebel's side and fought against their former comrades. Even with the loss of a few of their soldiers, the guards were fending off the rebels with extreme skill and determination. With all of the fighting, many bodies hit the floor with a dull thud, their swords clattering beside them.

Lucy was standing with her back against one of the walls. She watched the war rage on and tried her best to stay out of it. The blonde had never learned to wield a sword properly, though she thought it couldn't have been too hard. The teen bit her lip as she stole one look to the hallway that lead to the throne room. She prayed that Gray and Natsu had cut down the King. She hoped everything was well.

There was a sudden yell as a man ran toward Lucy. The girl let out a yelp as she sidestepped the point of his sword. He spun to hiss at her, his eyes filled with blood lust. The blonde gulped as she held up her sword. The teen had been able to avoid fighting until then. With another outraged cry, the guard charged again. Lucy panted as she blocked a knight's sword. The knight took another jab and the princess barley dodged it. She felt her arm sting slightly, noticing a small cut. The blonde huffed as she quickly wiped away the blood with her palm. The knight took this opportunity to land a kick, making Lucy fall over. She kept her grip on her sword, not letting the weapon fall from her hand. The guard, thinking that he had her, bent down close and grinned with bad intention that made Lucy's skin crawl.

'He's distracted!' She thought, and brought her sword to the side of his head, as hard as she could.

The pommel hit him in the temple with a dull thud.

He fell unconscious on top of her and she let out a little scream of surprise. "Ewww!"

Lucy pushed off the guard before standing up. She noticed that the rebels were slowly overtaking the knights. A surge of relive flooded over the teen, glad that the whole war would soon come to an end.

XXX

Moments after Lyon arrived, the two brothers made short work of their father. The older man only had a dagger to defend himself and he couldn't use his magic to trick them anymore. The raven watched as Lyon made a bunch of ice birds attack the king before Gray made the floor under them covered in ice. So when Alistair stumbled back, he ended up falling on his back with a loud smack. The king scrambled to get up, screaming in frustration when his feet kept slipping. Gray didn't give him the chance to get up and hurt them all over again.

"Ice Make, Hammer!"

The king sent him one last hateful glare as Gray's ice crushed him.

"Ice make, cage!" Gray shouted, making an icy cage form around Alistair, making it so even if he did awake, he would be trapped for the time being.

Gray smirked at Lyon, he smiled back before turning toward Wendy and Natsu. Wendy had successfully patched up the wounded pinkette and was checking over her bandage work. Gray raced over to the pair, crouching down to his lover's side. He looked at Wendy with worry.

"Will he be alright?"

The sky dragon slayer smiled at the prince and nodded. "Thankfully he will recover...good thing I got here when I did."

Gray let out a sigh of relief as he looked at Natsu's calm face. The raven gently rubbed the pinkette cheek with his thumb.

"Well...sorry to ruin the moment and all but what are we going to do about...Alistair." Lyon asked with a sneer at speaking his father's name.

Gray looked up at his brother, not sure what to say.

"Don't go down to that man's level...just lock him up somewhere and leave him to rot." Wendy commented softly, looking over at the caged, unconscious king.

Lyon crossed his arms with a small huff. "We could do that but what if he somehow gets out of his confinements and then we will have to fight him all over again. I say we kill him and get it over with."

Lyon and Wendy looked at Gray, waiting for him to choose a side. The former prince rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to say. He agreed with both of them though there was a down side to each argument finally, the raven came up with what he wanted to do.

"I don't think I can ever kill my father...even after all of the horrible things he has done to all of us. I think it would be better to lock him up in the castle prison for the rest of his life and make sure he never escapes."

Lyon frowned, not happy that his brother didn't agree with him but slowly nodded. "We have to go check on everyone else first." The elder said as he walked out of throne room.

Gray looked at Wendy who had her attention back on Natsu. There was nothing that Gray could do to help him, but he could still help the rebels win and end his father's reign. "Please Take care of him..."

The sky dragon nodded, turning her head back to Natsu. Gray walked out of the throne room and inched toward the parlor. The sounds of metal hitting metal and shouts were filling the air along with the smell of blood. Gray grimaced a little, wondering how many have died already. The raven looked around for Juvia and Lucy. The prince hoped that they were both safe.

XXX

Gray's eyes finally landed on Lucy after he scoured the parlor. The ice price sighed in relief, seeing she was okay though she looked rather traumatized. The male rushed over to her, dodging a sword that had come his way. Lucy's eyes lit up at the sight of her friend.

"Gray!" She shouted happily.

The raven smiled brightly. "Good to see you're not among the bodies." He commented as he looked around, seeing the fight was still ragging on. Gray decided to put a stop to it once and for all. In the back of his mind he was still wondering where Juvia was…

He shook the scary thought away of her demise before standing up on the nearby chair that was still standing though covered in blood splatters.

"Everyone listen up!" He shouted loudly over the sounds of the battle.

Of course, no one stopped or even glanced at the former prince.

"Listen to me!" Gray screamed out, using his ice to cover every surface including people's feet.

Rebels and Guards turned their heads to look at the raven who was trying to catch his breath, panting loudly.

"The king has fallen! There is no use to continue this blood bath!" He announced, looking across the crowd.

Everyone stared at him in shock, not believing that Alistair had lost the fight. The guards growled and demanded for the statement to be a lie while the rebels cheered loudly. Gray sighed, running his hand though his hair. The war was finished and the rebels had won.

XXX

It was the day after the war at the palace. Gray had told the townspeople what had happened and that they no longer had a king. Some were confused and others worried for they had no clue what would happen to Fairy Tail if it no longer had a king. The prince tried to calm them down, saying his brother would probably take the position.

"There is no way this will work!" Someone shouted. "A nearby kingdom with surely invade us!"

Gray frowned. The thought of leaving the people without a leader was eating at Gray. He knew it was his duty as a prince to take the throne…but then he wouldn't be able to be with Natsu.

"You are the prince! You have to be our new king!"

Gray rubbed the back of his head, knowing that Lyon would make a way better king but he wasn't sure his older brother would take the position.

"Please Prince Gray!"

The raven finally nodded. "Okay..I'll take the throne."

Some people cheered and most were relieved that they had a ruler to protect them.

After he was done with his announcement, he left to head back to the castle where everyone else was. The wounded were being patched up there while the others were taking turn guarding Alistair. Gray walked through the castle doors, seeing that Lucy and Juvia were sitting on the two chairs.

"Welcome back." Juvia said with a light hearted smile.

Lyon was the one to find the woman in a closet. She was heavily wounded by Alistair but still breathing.

"How did it go?" Lucy questioned before Gray had a chance to speak.

The raven shrugged. "Well…everyone was telling me I had to take the position and so I took it.

Lucy blinked before nodding slowly with a smile. "You'll make a great king…but what about Lyon?"

Gray only shrugged for he wasn't really sure what his older brother wanted to do. The male frowned; wondering what would happen now that he had taken the throne. The raven said goodbye to the two girls before heading to the nearby bedroom where he knew his lover was. Natsu was awake but had to stay in bed. Gray was worried even though the pinkette was okay. He was worried that the flame brain would do something stupid and open up the wound. The prince knocked on the door before walking inside, seeing Natsu sitting up and eating some soup.

Gray smiled at the other. "Hey."

The Dragon tribe leader turned his head and smiled back. "Hey ice cube."

Gray huffed a little. "How are you feeling?"

Natsu chuckled a little. "Don't worry about it so much! It wasn't that bad of a wound and I'm feeling good."

The prince frowned. "Alright."

He walked over to the other, sitting at the edge of the bed before kissing Natsu's cheek. The raven snickered a little as his lover's face lit up the same color as his hair.

"What was that for?!"

"I'm just glad you are alright Natsu."

XXX

The next few weeks were pretty boring…well at least for Natsu. The dragon tribe leader hated laying in bed and doing nothing. Every time he did try to get up and walk, Gray would get worried and yell at him to get back into the bed. Soon enough though, the pinkette was finally alright to move around without the worry of his wound opening up. The male walked into the parlor of the castle, seeing that everyone was up and about. He was glad that people were starting to recover and things finally seemed right. Natsu thought about his tribe, knowing he would have to go home soon being there was no other reason for him to stay anymore…

'That is true.' He thought to himself and a certain prince popped into his mind.

The pinkette shook his head, knowing that his tribe came first but he was going to miss Gray terribly.

XXX

Gray walked into the bedroom Natsu was staying in. The male smiled at his lover.

"I'm here to tell you that food is ready."

Natsu was sitting at the edge of the bed, seemingly deep in thought. The pinkette turned his head to look at the new king.

"Gray…I've decided I'm going back to my tribe." He announced, getting up to walk over to the other.

Gray felt his heart break at the announcement. "Y-you're going to leave?"

Natsu sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I have to go and lead my tribe."

The king shook his head. "No…You can't! You have to stay with me!"

Natsu frowned. The thought of leaving was tearing the pinkette up inside but he had to do it.

"I will leave the throne and go with you then!" Gray announced.

"No you can't. You have a duty to uphold Gray. We both do."

"But-"

Natsu looked at Gray with determination. "It is the best thing for the both of us."

The raven bit his lip, feeling tears fill his eyes. He shook his head before wiping away the tears. He knew that the other male was right but he didn't want to watch the love of his life walk away.

Natsu went up and kissed the king gently. "Maybe…we can see each other again someday."

Gray nodded. "Maybe."

The male turned to leave the room. "Come on and eat. You are going to need your strength for tomorrow."

Natsu smiled a little before following his love out of the room.

XXX

Gray was seeing Natsu and Wendy off. The raven couldn't believe it…that his lover was leaving him. The male knew he couldn't force the other to stay or anything but it still hurt to watch him start to walk away and head toward the dessert. Gray began to think of everything that had happened and how close he had gotten to the dragon slayer. The prince was madly in love with the other man and watching him leave made his heart break slowly. He wanted Natsu to stay so badly but the pinkette was not his slave and he had a duty as a leader of the dragon tribe. Gray sighed as he looked at Natsu again. The pinkette turned around and waved goodbye.

Gray shook his head. He couldn't do this! The male ran toward the pinkette, tackling him to the ground.

"Ow!" Natsu whined and opened his mouth to complain but was shut up by Gray who planted his lips on the pinkette's.

Gray knew he was acting selfish as he pulled away. "Stay with me…please Natsu."

"Gray…" The fire dragon slayer breathed out before looking away. "I can't abandon my tribe."

"What if they come here? What if you rule with me?" Gray insisted, a pleading look in his eye.

Gray looked at the other nervously. He was scared that Natsu would reject his offer. The king watched as the other's face ran through a whole bunch of different expressions as he thought over the pros and cons.

Natsu smiled after a little while. "That might work…" He looked at the other. "You know…I was having so much trouble making myself walk away."

Gray nuzzled his face into his lover's neck. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Wendy watched with a soft smile. "I'll go off and tell the tribe the news."

Gray looked up to her, rubbing the back of his head. "Not by yourself. You should bring Lucy along."

Wendy nodded as she followed them back to the castle.

XXX

Gray and Natsu ruled Fairy Tail together. They fixed up the problems in the city, helping out the poor people by giving them shelter and food. The pair were rather good kings and the people really liked them. Gray looked out for the city folk and the castle, Natsu for the tribal folk and outside relations. Gray's and Natsu's different personalities and ways of thinking balanced each other out so that no one was forgotten when they made decisions.

Lyon looked after the knights, helping them out with training and other things.

Lucy's kingdom and Fairy tail had very good trade. The blonde was happy to see that Fairy tail was so good with the two kings. Though she was happy she was still sad about seeing Gray with someone else. She did love him after all. Lucy tried to move on, going on dates with Prince Leo who was the prince of another nearby kingdom.

The rebels no longer had to stay in hiding and helped out with the city. Some of them even joined the royal guard.

The dragon tribe made themselves at home in the city, so happy to see that their leader was alive and well. They all took jobs that they fit best from being knights to being craftsman.

The fallen in the battle were given honored funerals. Erza and Levy honored as heroes after their death for protecting the prince.

Things were looking up for everyone and it seemed they would stay that way for a long time.

XXX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews and kudos are appreciated <3


End file.
